Ashutosh Rana Recalls Days Of Student Politics When He Beat Police Officers: 'I Used To Be A Different Person'

In an interaction with The Lallantop, the actor shed light on an incident of him beating up police officers when they falsely accused his friends in an eve teasing case. 

In an interaction with The Lallantop, the actor shed light on an incident of him beating up police officers when they falsely accused his friends in an eve teasing case. 

New Delhi: Ashutosh Rana is known for his stellar performances in several commercial and indie films. Recently, the veteran actor spoke about wanting to be a political leader. In an interaction with The Lallantop, the actor shed light on an incident of him beating up police officers when they falsely accused his friends in an eve teasing case. 

In an interview with the channel, Ashutosh Rana shared that he was studying in Dr. Hari Singh Gaur University Sagar in Madhya Pradesh. He reaclled his routine of sitting with his friends at their adda-in a saloon-in Civil Lines area of the city, Sagar.

"One day I learnt from a friend that cops had beaten up two of our other friends. This was happening at Civil Lines so we rushed there and saw that two cops were beating them. Then the matter flipped, when I also started beating them (the cops). I knew then that this matter won’t be settled here. I asked my friend to run to the university and gather students, before we are taken to the police station. We had our English exams the next day!”

When asked to elaborate on thesame, he said, "I feel like I was a different person then!”

The actor also recalled how a mobile squad of jawans came to the location when the things were about to get heated up.

“I knew if I run, they will beat me and bring me back from the point they catch me. So it was better to directly sit in the van. There was absolute chaos there. By the time I reached the police station, close to 1,500 students had surrounded it. Calls were made by politicians; it was decided that I won’t be locked up inside as I had my English exams the next day. So, I was put in a room, with windows open, where I studied with the boys. The cops were adamant that they won’t let me go.”

The actor also said that he was someone who was 'loved by the powerful' and taken to the magistrate's bungalor at 6 AM the next day, where he granted bail.

“I sat for the exams and immediately after that, we sat on a hunger strike at civil lines, calling for the suspension of the cops. Those students had not done any even teasing and yet were beaten up. Eve teasing is a terrible thing to do and boys of our group were never involved in it.

“The issue became very big. We reached Indore where the then CM was attending a function. We barged in, sat in his car and said you are not paying attention to what is happening. They were then eventually transferred,” He said.

Later, when students' politics was banned from colleges, Ashutosh Rana joined the National School of Drama( NSD).