Students of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) staged a protest on the campus on Monday demanding action against leaders of the Students Federation of India (SFI) in connection with an alleged attack on an engineering student near University Junction on Sunday night.
Aasil Abubacker, 19, a BTech Instrumentation student, was allegedly attacked by a gang led by Rahul Peralam and Prajith K. Babu, both MTech students and unit president and secretary respectively of the SFI at Cusat.
The Kalamassery police have registered a case against both the accused under Section 308 of the Indian Penal Code for attempt to commit culpable homicide. According to a complaint filed at the Kalamassery police station, Aasil alleged that Rahul and Prajith deliberately dashed their car onto his motorbike when he was waiting near a hotel at University Junction. The student alleged that the gang came out of the car and hit him with an iron road on his head. He was shifted to a nearby hospital.
Follow-up
The police suspect that the incident was a follow-up to the differences that had cropped up between the complainant and those who had attacked him two days ago at the university hostel during the annual day celebrations. The university authorities said they had ordered an inquiry into the incident.
The Kerala Students Union, in a release, said the incident exposed the double standards of the SFI that it would not protect members with criminal backgrounds. Prajith K. Babu, SFI unit secretary, had been ousted from Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, in connection with the burning of the chair of the Principal in 2017.
Probe sought
The union alleged that the accused had secured admission in Cusat despite the negative remarks in his conduct certificate. The KSU had submitted a complaint to the Vice Chancellor seeking an inquiry on how Prajith had secured admission despite his poor credentials, it said.
