Students Bemoan Violence at IIT Madras over ‘Beef Fest’

Here’s what students across India had to say about the thrashing of a student at IIT Madras.

(Photo: The Quint)

The thrashing of a PhD scholar at IIT Madras has drawn widespread criticism from students across India. A group of students, allegedly affiliated to a right-wing union, had roughed up R Sooraj on Tuesday for participating in a beef fest organised in defiance of the Center's controversial ban on sale of cattle for slaughter.

Speaking to The Quint, Amity University student Shweta Agarwal expressed shock at Tuesday’s incident, that almost blinded Sooraj. She questioned as to how anyone can go to the extent of harming a person over the choice of food.

Echoing Agarwal, Saraswat Mandarapu pointed that use of violence against a student who had participated in the beef festival was uncalled for.

Unlike in Kerala, students at IIT Madras did not slaughter an ox. The protest was peaceful and I don’t understand why the organisers were beaten up

Saraswat Mandarapu, Student, Manipal University

While some condemned the use of violence by those who attacked Sooraj, some others were even more forthcoming in their critique of the Centre, whose latest ban remains at the heart of the renewed row over beef.

Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam