A student from Assam was allegedly assaulted inside a hostel room at Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) in Madhya Pradesh’s Annupur district, leading to protests on campus and the expulsion of six students. According to police, the incident took place on January 13. Annupur SP Motiur Rehman identified the victim as Hirosh Jyoti Das, who is pursuing a Master’s in Economics.
“He was assaulted by a group of students who were in an inebriated condition. They turned up at the hostel room… where the Assamese student was staying and assaulted him following an argument. We have filed an FIR against five students, but have not made any arrests,” the SP said.
Das said that on the day of the incident, he had woken up at 3 am and gone to the bathroom. “When I returned, I saw that a group of men had barged into my room. I told them this was my room,” he said.
He told police that the group then started asking about his background. “They asked me where I was from, and I replied Assam. I could smell alcohol in their breath,” Das said, adding that he did not know who they were and that he had no prior dispute with them. “They asked me what I was doing here, and I told them I had done my graduation and am now doing a PG course. One of them said you will die here,” he alleged.
Describing the alleged assault, Das said, “They bound my hands. They kicked me and punched me in my face.” He said his roommate had initially thought Das was preparing for some NCC activity, but when he realised the situation, he tried to intervene. “My roommate tried to save me. I was bleeding from my mouth at the time,” Das said.
After the incident, he first sought medical help inside the university. “I went to the college dispensary, where they dressed up my wounds,” he said. He was later taken to the district hospital in Chhattisgarh’s Gaurela — IGNTU is closer to this than to Annupur district hospital — for further treatment.
After word of the assault spread on campus, protests broke out, demanding action against the accused students. A university spokesperson said, “We have rusticated six students on the basis of CCTV footage. Immediate action was taken, the students were expelled from the university and the case has been forwarded to the Disciplinary Committee for investigation and disciplinary action. A complaint has also been sent to the local police administration for legal action.”
Story continues below this ad
Gaurela police were alerted by the hospital. Gaurela police station in-charge Saurabh Singh said, “We got a memo from the district hospital, where it was informed that two groups of college students fought at IGNTU. The memo mentioned injuries to the victim, and the case is under investigation.”
The memo and preliminary statements have been forwarded for investigation to Amarkantak police station in Annuppur district.
