Student-politics-related violence erupted yet again on Saturday midnight at Maharaja's College hostel, after KSU's Maharajas College unit secretary Mohammed Niyas was attacked at the college hostel by a gang that was allegedly led by an SFI leader of the college.
Niyas was admitted to Indira Gandhi Cooperative Hospital, Kadavantra, with injuries. Subsequently, the Ernakulam Central Police arrested two youth, including an SFI office bearer, police sources said.
Enraged at the attack, KSU activists led by its district president Aloshious Xavier took out a march to the hostel and courted arrest, on Sunday afternoon. "Niyas suffered bruises on his body and a nasal fracture. Activists of SFI were torturing those of KSU during the past few months in the campus and also in the hostel where non-residents are illegally staying at the behest of SFI," Mr Xavier said.
He further alleged an SFI-led gang had turned the hostel into a torture cell. The police preferred to register a case on the basis of 'weak provisions' despite ample evidence and a written complaint, with the result that the attackers got bail from the police station itself. This has emboldened the attackers.
The Government and the police looked the other way when a former principal's chair was burnt and weapons were discovered from hostel rooms, during the past couple of years. Subsequently, the college has lost its academic ambience and is emerging as a mafia den. The SFI must not confine 'independence, democracy and socialism' to mere sloganeering and paint them in their flag, while at the same time resorting to fascism in campuses, Mr Xavier added.
The KSU's district secretary Miva Joly presided, while Corporation councillor Manu Jacob was among those who spoke at a dharna held before the hostel.
