Four students booked for assaulting disabled person in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 5 (PTI) A case has been registered against four University College students for allegedly assaulting a student with a physical disability, police said on Thursday.

The complainant claimed that the accused are members of the Students' Federation of India, though the outfit has denied the allegation.

Based on a complaint filed by a 19-year-old degree student, the Cantonment police registered a case against four students on Tuesday.

The student accused the suspects of subjecting him to physical and mental abuse at the student union office on December 2, said officials.

The complainant, also an SFI sympathiser, stated that the accused asked him to climb a flagpole to place flags during a function.

However, he refused due to his disability, after which the accused began assaulting him in front of other students.

The student claimed that the accused later took him to the student union office at the college, where they continued to assault him.

"The SFI unit president and secretary assaulted me, kicked my disabled leg, and threatened to sever my legs if I spoke out," the victim told media on Thursday. He also mentioned that the accused subjected him to body shaming.

However, an SFI district leader denied the assault, claiming that no union programmes took place on the day, in question.

"There was a clash between two student groups, and union leaders tried to mediate between both sides. No assault occurred," he said.

He added, "The SFI will investigate why the student is making baseless allegations against the organisation." Further, he stated that SFI state leaders would issue an official response on the matter. The police have registered a case against three degree students and one PG student in connection with the incident.

"An investigation is underway," said a police officer. PTI ARM SSK ARM SSK ROH