Sejal Pawar was wrong. But are her batchmates proving why med school culture is so toxic?

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Before anyone misunderstands me: what Sejal Pawar said about a cadaver was disgusting, disrespectful, and deserves criticism. Medical students should be held to a higher standard when it comes to respecting human bodies and patients.

However, what is bothering me now is something else.

Why are her batchmates leaking private chats, personal conversations, and details about her personal life? Criticize her publicly for what she said publicly. Report her if necessary. Hold her accountable for professional misconduct.

But digging through someone's private life and exposing personal chats feels completely different.

As a final-year medical student, I find this disturbing because it highlights one of the ugliest parts of medical college culture. We always talk about how toxic batch dynamics can be, how people wait for someone's downfall, how there is little unity among classmates, and how gossip spreads faster than any academic resource.

If her classmates know personal information about her, why is it being circulated online? What purpose does it serve beyond humiliation?

You can believe she deserves consequences for her actions and still believe that leaking private chats and personal matters is wrong. It's like they are taking revenge for whatever she did in past when public is already angry.

Today it's her. Tomorrow it could be anyone else.

Am I the only one who thinks accountability and public shaming are not the same thing?