A week after the National Medical Commission (NMC) took cognisance of allegations that stipends credited to students at MNR Medical College and Hospital in Sangareddy are being partially recovered by the management through coercive means, postgraduate medical students have alleged that they were forced to sign declarations stating that stipends are being paid as per norms, claiming they were called department-wise, had their mobile phones taken away, and were warned of serious action if they refused.
The declaration, accessed by The Hindu, required students to affirm that they are receiving stipends regularly in accordance with applicable rules, that there are no delays or irregularities in disbursement, and that the undertaking is being submitted voluntarily and without any external influence.
Students, however, alleged that the process was far from voluntary. According to them, postgraduate trainees were summoned to the Medical Superintendent’s office in batches and asked to sign the document on the spot. “We were not allowed to carry our phones inside. The doors were closed, and we were told to sign and leave. When some of us asked for time to discuss with our parents or requested that the stipend amount be clearly mentioned, they refused,” a student said.
