Two women students of the Government College Nattokam, in Kottayam Kerala, an ex-student of the same college, and her male friend were reportedly beaten up by SFI activists on Tuesday, allegedly in retaliation for participating in a protest against the student unit.
What’s more, the attack was led by Jain Raj, the president of the college students union, the victims alleged. SFI however has denied these allegations.
Arathy Saji and Athmaja AB are students of BA Political Science at the college, and were talking to their friend, Sreethu Sreedharan, who graduated from the college last year. Sreethu had come to the college to apply for a refund of her caution deposit money, and was accompanied by her male friend, Swathy Swaminathan.
The four of them was talking inside the campus around 4pm, when they were attacked by a group of men.
“A group of seven or eight men came towards us,” Arathy told TNM. “Some of them were SFI activists of our college, including the college union president Jain Raj. The group also had men who are from outside the campus. They questioned Swathy as to what he was doing in campus - and suddenly, they started beating him up.”
“When we questioned their actions, they turned against us and started beating us too,” Arathy added.
“Some students who were standing outside the gate heard us screaming, and rushed to the spot and stopped them from beating us,” she said.
Arathy and Athmaja have been admitted to the Government Medical College in Kottayam, whereas Sreethu and Swathy left to Ernakulam after the incident.
The students say that they were targeted for participating in a protest against the SFI.
“Athmaja and I took part in a protest against SFI after they brutally beat up two students. They might have taken revenge on us for that,” she said.
“I am a Dalit. They suspect that we work for Ambedkar Students’ Association and also that we are planning to form its unit in the campus. We support the Ambedkar Students' Association which has a unit in the Mahatma Gandhi University, to which our college is affiliated,” Arathy said.
She also alleges that the SFI activists have accused her and Athmaja of being ‘Dalit terrorists’.
The students have filed a complaint with the Chingavanam police. apart from a complaint to the college authorities.
However SFI Kottayam district president Rijesh K Babu told TNM that the allegation that the women were beaten was wrong.
“There was no issue with the students. The man who came from outside had been there in the campus from morning. Since he was there till evening, office bearers of the college union questioned him, and it ended in a fight. But they didn’t beat the women. There was no issue with them at all,” he said.