BHOPAL: Five students of the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University in Madhya Pradesh’s Anuppur district have been expelled for allegedly carrying out a brutal assault on an Assamese postgraduate student in his hostel room.
The victim, 22-year-old MA (Economics) student Hiros Jyoti Das, was attacked in the early hours of January 13 by a group of five to six youths. He suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured nose, and has been unable to eat since the assault.
Following protests over the incident, the university administration conducted an internal probe based on CCTV footage. Five students — Anurag Pandey, Jatin Singh, Rajnish Tripathi, Vishal Yadav and Utkarsh Singh were identified and expelled from the central university. All the expelled students are residents of Anuppur district.
The five have also been booked by the Amarkantak police under sections related to voluntarily causing hurt, abusive behaviour, criminal intimidation, including threats to life, and offences committed with common intent.
According to the complaint, the incident occurred around 4 am when the attackers entered Das’s hostel room and questioned him about his identity. “They asked my name and where I hailed from. On telling them that I was from Assam and was pursuing PG studies here, after completing graduation from the same university, they told me that you’ve come here and you’ll die here only,” Das said.
“On telling them that I won’t die here, some of them caught hold of me, while others started hitting me on the face, while shouting this is how you will die. Clearly, they attacked me due to the place where I belong to and on finding me alone. I fear that I may be killed just like the youth from Tripura was killed in Dehradun recently. I don’t want to die here, I am the lone son of my family. All those who stormed into my hostel room and attacked me were drunk and wanted to kill me. I haven’t been able to eat due to a fracture in my nose and lips, besides blood clot in eyes, caused by the assault three days before my exams starting from January 16,” he said.
The incident has triggered outrage on the university campus, with student organisations staging protests and demanding a fair investigation and strict action against those responsible. Protesters alleged that such incidents severely damage the academic and social atmosphere of the institution.
Reacting to the incident, BJP MP from Shahdol (ST) constituency Himadri Singh termed the assault reprehensible and disturbing. She demanded a fair investigation and strict action by the university administration and the police, and called for an end to discrimination and lawlessness.