Just when we were processing the ragging incident at CMC College at Vellore, an incident from Hyderabad comes to light. ICFAI Business School student was assaulted, harassed and threatened by a group of 10-15 seniors allegedly on November 1. The victim has been identified as Himank Bansal, a BBA-LLB student at IFHE (ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education).
After social media was filled with videos being circulated from the night of November 11, the Cyderabad Police reacted by tweeting, "In the incident reported at IBS Institute, A case was registered on 11.11.2022 by Shankarpally PS, agansit the culprits under the provisions of 307, 342, 450, 323, 506, R/W 149, IPC and Sec 4(I),(II), and (III) of the Prohibition of Raising Act of 2011. The action is being taken."
What actually happened?
On November 11, a video went viral on social media platforms where a student was seen being beaten, harassed and thrashed by a group of seniors in his hostel room. Allegedly, a copy of his complaint dated November 3 also surfaced on Twitter. 'Incident of Life-Threatening Assault and Battery, Violation of Right to Privacy, Mental Agony caused due to constant death threats and Sexual Harassment in the boy's hostel' was the subject of the complaint, a copy of which, was shared by Supreme Court lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha on Twitter.
Explaining how he was harmed, as stated in the complaint, Himank said, "Around 3:30 pm on November 1st, 15 to 20 guys burst into my hostel room. They ganged up on me, kicked my testicles, humiliated me, recorded it, and threatened to beat me to death if I didn't take my trousers off." The complaint went on to state that he suffered from bruises under his right eye and his skull was swollen. "I would be removed from the university's grounds and my body would be disposed of" if he reports this to college authorities, the complaint stated.
Why did this violence happen?
As stated in the complaint, this violence allegedly took place based on an Instagram chat between Himank and his friend where he referred to Prophet Muhammad in a derogatory way. The screenshot of this chat was shared by his friend with others. Following this, a group of men ganged up on him.
Additionally, the victim claimed that he was forced to say phrases like Allah Hun Akbar and Jai Mata Di. This was seen in the video which was circulated. Moreover, as per the complaint, the assaulters threatened to harm his family members, he claimed.
