Hyderabad: Holi celebrations at Sri Chaitanya Junior College Raman Bhavan at Narsingi took a violent turn with a group of II Intermediate students attacking juniors and assaulted them with fist blows and kicks.
The injured boys claimed that one of the campus in-charges, Mr Teja, had instigated the seniors to attack them after an argument. Scores of parents gathered at the college on Friday morning demanding action against the senior students and the in-charge. A complaint was lodged at Narsingi police station.
Narsingi Inspector G.V. Ramana Goud said a case under charges of voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means and Juvenile Justice Act was booked against the senior students. "The case is under investigation and the process of identifying the students involved in the incident is under way. Action will be initiated as per evidence," he added.
On Thursday night, students were celebrating Holi on the campus. Around 11 pm, an argument broke out between the staff and junior students, forcing the former to call the senior students and instigated them against juniors. One of the injured students claimed that while he was waiting outside the room, senior students pulled him inside and assaulted him. "I could not see anything. They continuously rained blows and kicks on me and even tore my shirt and beat on my back severely. However, after much struggle, my friends managed to pull me out," he said.
It all started when the students asked incharges Teja and Srinath for water.
"He abused us for asking water, for which we raised an objection. This led to an argument and he called the seniors, who started chasing and beating us severely. Some of us were pinned down to the floor in the bathrooms and kicked badly. They divided into groups and caught us individually and assaulted us. The incharges were mute spectators to the whole episode," students said. The injured were sent for medical examination.
"We are verifying the cc cameras on the campus and checking for other clues," the Inspector added.
DC lensman attacked, cops come to rescue
Deccan Chronicle photographer P. Surendra, who had gone to cover the protest at the college, was beaten up by a mob of senior students. He had to be rushed to a hospital after receiving severe injuries. The students also damaged Surendra's bike, which was parked near the campus.
A protest was organised by the students on Friday afternoon. After the protest, the students and their parents went to a police station to file a complaint. Surendra, who was covering the issue, followed them to the police station.
Throughout, he kept clicking pictures of protesting students and injured students.
He then returned to the college campus to retrieve his bike. There, some seniors noticed him taking pictures, dragged him into the campus, and began beating him up. Surendra was attacked by around 50 students, and he could not escape from the assault on his own. He had to be rescued by cops. The journalist was brought to the police station. There, he filed a complaint against the students for attacking him and damaging his bike.
Inspector G.V. Ramana Goud said that a case had been registered against the students under charges of rioting, unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, and causing damage to a vehicle.
