IIT tense as groups stage stir against attack on Sooraj

While IIT students protested inside the campus, student organisations did the same outside the gate. “We held a march from the Himalaya Mess lawn to the Dean’s office where our representatives put forth our demands. We want all the attackers to be expelled, especially Manish Kumar Singh, the main attacker. Secondly, all the medical expenses of Sooraj must be borne by the institution. Also, we don’t want any closed-door meetings regarding the issue,” said Azhar M, a Master’s student, who also participated in the beef fest. 

However, the representatives, who met the dean, are unhappy with the outcome of the meet. “Our demands are not met and we will continue to protest until the demands are conceded,” said another student. 

Student groups like Revolutionary Student Youth Front (RSYF), Students Federation of India (SFI), Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC) and activists of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) protested outside the campus. Police had to remove them in the afternoon as some of them ate beef and created. Meanwhile, a video of Sooraj, a PhD scholar and a member of Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC), was released in which he spoke about his side of the story from his hospital bed. In the over six-minutelong video, Sooraj narrates as to what had happened in the mess. He said Manish came up to him inquiring if he ate beef and eventually started throwing punches at him. “His intention was to kill me. He saw me bleeding heavily but still continued to attack,” he said. Sooraj was taken to Sankar Nethralaya first for the injury in the right eye. He is currently at Apollo Hospital. He says that Manish even visited the institute’s hospital where Sooraj was admitted initially and threatened him and friends saying, “This is just the beginning. We will kill everyone who eats beef.”

Sooraj goes on to say that he feels threatened to return to the campus and that he needs protection.

“He asked me where I am from. I felt weird and asked him why he wants to know all these things. He asked me if I eat beef. I said yes. As soon as I started eating my food, he hit me at the back of my head. I fell down and he caught my hair and started beating me on my face, eyes and nose. When this was happening, my friend who was eating with me stood up to stop me but Manish’s friens stopped him and he continued hitting me more. By the time people came to help, I was badly injured. Throughout the incident he kept shouting ‘You eat beef, I will kill you.” Other people came and pushed him out of the mess. 

He further says,”Manish’s intenton was to kill me. He saw me bleed but still continued to beet me. I was taken to the Institute’s hospital where my other friends were also there. He came there too saying that this is just the beginning. He will kill everyone who ate beef.” 

Kerala Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan on Wednesday wrote to TN CM K Palanisamy, seeking stern action against those responsible for the attack on an IIT-M PhD scholar, hailing from Kerala. Immediate action should be taken to provide medical and legal help to R Sooraj, the speaker said in the letter, a copy of which was released to the media here. A case has also been registered against Sooraj by those who had allegedly attacked him, the Speaker said.