AISA says one of its members assaulted

Bengaluru

The All India Students Association (AISA) stated on Thursday that one of its members was assaulted by suspected goons from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Wednesday for questioning the Union government over the NEET paper leaks. Allegedly, the goons threatened the victim asking “You dare to demand the resignation of Modi?”

The victim incurred serious injuries on their leg, which has been plastered. An FIR has been lodged with the Jalahalli Police Station. Speaking exclusively to NewsTrail, sources stated that prior to registering the FIR, the investigation was slow and delayed when the group went to lodge it and had to wait for around 5 hours in the police station. The victim also said that they told the police that the goons were from ABVP, but the FIR doesn’t mention the group.

The victim had been actively participating in the protests in Freedom Park in solidarity with the nationwide student-youth movement demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan and systemic failures of the current BJP government in education. AISA claimed that the attack was a direct response to the student's participation in questioning the brutalities of the current Indian state.

“Although the protests at Jantar Mantar began with NEET, they soon evolved into a broader platform to speak about the active destruction of democracy done by the BJP government. The ABVP has repeatedly functioned as the henchmen of the RSS-BJP regime in suppressing dissent across the country. University campuses have increasingly witnessed acts of intimidation and violence carried out with apparent impunity,” AISA said in a statement.

ABVP denies
AISA members alleged that the attackers were associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). However, the ABVP denied any involvement in the incident. AISA also claimed that ABVP members had previously assaulted its activists, most recently during a protest at Azim Premji University against the SPARK Reading Circle.