9 booked for attacking IIT Madras scholar over 'beef fest' in campus

CHENNAI: Nine students have been booked for allegedly beating up a PhD scholar from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Madras, for organising a 'Beef Fest' in the campus. The charges under which the accused have been booked are IPC 147- Punishment for rioting, 341-Punishment for wrongful restraint, 323- Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt and 506(1) - criminal intimidation.

 However, the victim R. Sooraj has also been booked under two Sections - IPC 324 - Voluntarily causing hurt, 341-wrongful restraints, according to accused Manish Kumar's complaint.

After a PhD scholar was allegedly beaten up on Tuesday by right-wing students for organising 'Beef Fest' in the campus, one of his friends Azhar said that it was reported as beef party, but the event was to have normal discussion on Centre's ruling on cattle slaughtering within the institute and to raise awareness. "It is being reported as a beef party. It was not a celebration of the right for us to consume beef. Major point for the event was to have discussion within the institute about the effects of the Centre's ruling on cattle slaughter and to raise awareness," Azhar said. Azhar also demanded the institute to take strict against the culprits. "The guy who attacked him (R. Sooraj) is Manish. He held Sooraj's head downwards and started punching him all over his face and started yelling that this is what will happen if you eat beef in the institute. Manish claimed to fracture his hand and he also began threatened us. There will be protests regarding this inside the IIT campus. The person who attacked should be expelled. Action should be taken by the institute," he added. Sooraj has been beaten up for conducting ' Beef Fest' in IIT. He has been seriously injured in his right eye. A group of 70 to 80 students held the beef festival on Sunday evening to demonstrate against the Centre's notification. Earlier this week, expressing strong disapproval of the Centre's move, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by attacking the BJP-led government at the centre and the RSS, saying there was no need for the people of his state to draw lessons from New Delhi or Nagpur on their food habits.