CHENNAI: After a medical intern at the ESIC medical college in KK Nagar was attacked by a housekeeping staff, the college students engaged in a protest on Saturday.
Alfred George, a medical intern, had ordered food online and came to pick it up after 10 pm - during which students' movement was restricted. He was stopped by a security guard and it escalated into an argument between the student and the security guard along with a housekeeping staff. It further heated up as Alfred was beaten up by the housekeeping staff. The video of the attack - showing Alfred bleeding from his mouth and dislocated shoulder - went viral on social media. He was admitted to the in-house hospital at the college.
The protesting students claim that even the security who is supposed to protect the students did not help him and supported the attacker.
A college official said that the students lodged a complaint with the grievance redressal committee and the outsourced housekeeping staff and the security were terminated. On Monday, another meeting will be held and other issues will be addressed.
Protesting students registered their complaints of unkempt toilets and non-functional fans in hostel rooms despite formal complaints with authorities. "There are also no proper canteen facilities for the students," students told DT Next on the sidelines of the protest.
"For interns, the working hours are better said to be 24 hours. Many a time we skip our lunch due to the duty and go to work. In many cases, we come to the hostel very late and miss to get mess food. People from the ladies' hostel cannot go outside due to curfew and ordering online is the only way. If we try to go out and have food, women students are morally policed," said an intern at the college.
The students ended the protest on Saturday after the college authorities assured necessary police investigation. Later in the day, MGR Nagar police registered a case and arrested the housekeeping staff AP Balajeevagan for the alleged assault. The accused was later produced before the magistrate for remand.