‘Expel those who attacked Sooraj’: IIT-M students list 3 demands in letter to institute dean

Students also want Sooraj's medical expenses to be borne by the institute.
‘Expel those who attacked Sooraj’: IIT-M students list 3 demands in letter to institute dean
‘Expel those who attacked Sooraj’: IIT-M students list 3 demands in letter to institute dean
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On Wednesday morning, a flurry of activity and police presence dawned on IIT Madras campus as many students started protesting against the attack on a PhD scholar, allegedly for eating beef.

Sooraj R, a member of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC), sustained injuries after he was assaulted on Tuesday, allegedly by eight students of a right wing group, for attending a beef festival.

Now, the students, including APSC representatives are staging a protest and have given a set of three demands: First, that the perpetrators should be expelled. Second, that all medical expenses of Sooraj should be taken care by the Institute. Third, that the punishment to the attackers must be informed to the general students’ body.

Protesters has also alleged that the attackers have a “history of violent behavior” and that they “are a threat to safety of everyone in the institution.”

Apart from APSC, left students group Revolutionary Student Youth Front (RSYF) and SFI members also joined the protest. Many were not allowed entry into the campus and were detained outside.

They left up placards showing their support to APSC and demanding justice for Sooraj.

Student representatives have also submitted a letter to the dean, alleging that a person called Manish Kumar Singh had approached Sooraj when he was sitting in the Himalaya mess at lunch on Tuesday. Manish then allegedly questioned Sooraj about his personal details and also whether he had eaten beef.

When Sooraj replied in the affirmative, Manish “got very agitated and angrily asked Sooraj whether he would eat beef and come to a Jain mess.”

“Immediately afterwards, before Sooraj had a chance to respond, Manish brutally attacked Sooraj with a blow to back of the head. As soon as the attack began, a group of students who had accompanied Manish surrounded Sooraj and help him back (sic),” the letter continues.

After some people intervened, the attackers left the scene quickly, the letter says. Sooraj was taken to the institute hosted, where Manish allegedly came some time later. The letter says that Manish “boasted of having beaten up Sooraj and made death threats to [student name], one of the students who had come to check up on him. He also names [student name] as another one whom he would kill.”

The perpetrators, the letter alleges, had also made threats on social media against students who participated in a discussion in IIT about the Central government’s recent notification banning cattle trade for slaughter. “Manish had warned the participant students of dire consequences,” the letter states.

Students protesting inside IIT-M campus 

It also alleges that the attack was “pre-planned, well thought out and executed”, because Manish had apparently finished lunch and was waiting for Sooraj and his friend.

The letter adds that Sooraj was referred to a private hospital after scans revealed injuries to his right eye and face, which would require surgery.

“Horrifying attacks like these will hamper the culture of harmony in these institutions,” says the letter and states the aforementioned demands.

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