The Uttarakhand Police on Thursday arrested the director and the deputy chief executive officer of the Roorkee Institute of Technology in Haridwar along with six others for allegedly assaulting two Nigerian students on campus, PTI reported.
A video of the incident that was widely circulated on social media, has sparked public outrage. Visuals of the two students sitting in the back of a car without their shirts and crying in pain have also gone viral.
The alleged assault took place on Wednesday when the two students had an argument with the security guards who allegedly beat them up for trying to leave the campus, Circle Officer Manglaur Abhay Singh said. The students lived in the campus hostel but had not been paying their fees. Due to this, the management had decided to restrict their movement to mount pressure on them, Singh added.
Sanjeev Thapliyal, station house officer at Bhagwanpur police station in Haridwar district, said a case was registered against the accused based on the complaint of Nigerian student Francis Koyang, according to the Hindustan Times.
“Total eight people, including the security guards of Roorkee Institute of Technology Bhagwanpur college have been arrested for thrashing [the] two Nigerian students,” Singh said, according to ANI. “Action will be taken against those involved in the incident. Various videos have surfaced online and we are looking into it. Further investigation is underway.”
Those who have been arrested are: Institute director Parag Jain, its deputy CEO Shrikant and six security guards – Yogesh, Khushiram, Sonu, Ashish, Lalit and Munendra Chauhan. Meanwhile, the two students who sustained injuries in the assault are admitted in a hospital nearby.
“[The] Students faced problems after they ran out of money,” an unidentified local told ANI. “They use to have their meals in the college canteen, but the manager stopped providing food after the student[s] failed to pay. They wanted to go to their friends’ home, but the college administration did not give permission. They stepped out and upon their return, got into a fight with [the] guard, and later, [the] college administration called goons to beat them up.”
The National Student Union of India and Bhim Army activists staged protests against the alleged assault outside the institute campus on Thursday, demanding stern legal action against the private college management. Singh assured the protestors that no one will be allowed to take law into their own hands. He said security has been beefed up in the college area and the CCTV footage was being monitored as well.
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