Bengaluru student assault turns political, AISA, ABVP trade charges

Bengaluru: An alleged assault on a 19-year-old student in Bengaluru’s Jalahalli has snowballed into a controversy, with the All India Students’ Association (AISA) accusing activists linked to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) of carrying out the attack. ABVP has rejected the allegation, maintaining that neither the FIR nor the police investigation links the organisation to the incident.

Police said a case has been registered against four unidentified persons, and efforts are on to identify the accused. Investigators have not established any organisational involvement and have not disclosed a motive behind the attack.

The complainant, Aman Deep Singh, stated that he was returning home around 10.30 pm on July 28 when four masked men on two motorcycles stopped him in Jalahalli. According to his complaint, the men allegedly verified his identity before one of them questioned him about his participation in protests seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation. The victim alleged that he was then struck on the leg with a wooden stick before the attackers escaped.

AISA claimed the assault was an attempt to intimidate the student for taking part in demonstrations demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The organisation alleged that the attack reflected a broader pattern of violence against students raising their voices on public issues and said the victim sustained a serious leg injury.

ABVP, however, dismissed the allegations as “baseless and defamatory.” It asserted that the complaint filed with Jalahalli Police Station names only unidentified persons and contains no mention of ABVP or any political affiliation. The organisation further alleged that AISA was trying to derive political mileage from the incident.

Police have booked the case under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, intentional insult and common intention. Officials said CCTV footage and other evidence are being examined, and the investigation will determine the identity of the assailants and the circumstances behind the attack. Until then, police have not attributed responsibility to any student or political organisation.