In a shocking incident, a peaceful protest turned violent after a cop trying to capture the demonstration on his phone ended up assaulting a medical student on May 1. The incident took place in Alluri Sitarama Raju Academy of Medical Sciences (ASRAMS) when a group of medical students, who were protesting against the management, met the police officials.
What happened?
As the mercury kept rising in the state of Andhra Pradesh, medical students from the ASRAMS medical college expressed their discontent with the college authority for their decision to cut short one-month long summer vacation to 15 days. Around 500 students gathered in front of the main building.
As the situation got out of hand, Dr K. Hanumantha Rao, C.E.O.of the hospital wrote a letter to the station house officer of Rural Police Station Eluru, to seek help. In the letter, a copy of which has been accessed by The Logical Indian, the management requested police to take appropriate steps, alleging that the protest hampered the workflow of ASRAM Hospital. The students speaking to The Logical Indian have denied the charges.
In a video, that has now gone viral, female students, their face covered with dupattas, can be seen talking to a police officer who arrived on the college premises. The situation exacerbated when a student noticed that a constable in civil uniform was recording the female students. She warned him and later snatched his phone. Soon thereafter, a female constable tried to grab the phone back. The male constable too jumped in and can be seen grabbing the female student and pulling her close to him aggressively. As the rest of the students tried to release her from the clasp of the constable, the administration and the police moved her away to a different location.
Such brutal assault by cops and college management at ASRAMS in AP! Absolutely ridiculous reaction because students asked for holidays!! pic.twitter.com/N1epCC2RDO
— Nimi (@nimeshika_j) May 2, 2019
Police: It’s a Small Incident
When The Logical Indian contacted the DGP of Eleru, he said that such small incidents happen all the time. “We were asked by the management to control the situation. We were told that the students were trying to hinder workflow of the medical college”, he added. When asked about the constable who assaulted the female student, he brushed it off, calling it a “small incident”.
Student’s Take
Speaking to The Logical Indian, medical students explained that the college used to offer one-month long vacation. However, over last two years, the Medical Council of India (MCI), truncated their summer vacation. A source requesting anonymity told us that when it happened last year, the management extended holidays to one month, following a two day protest by students. “We followed the same tradition this time, as we need a longer vacation. After all, we are human beings, and we require some days off,” a medical student told us.
Aftermath
Soon after the incident, the administration suspended classes on May 2 and a meeting was held with the medical students. However, the medical students walked out of the meeting alleging that their issues were not being addressed. The college management also called the parents of the girl who was assaulted and she was sent home. Parents of all the 46 girls who participated in the protest were also informed.
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