A day after a viral video showed NCC (National Cadet Corps) cadets being mercilessly thrashed by a senior at a college in Maharashtra's Thane city, today, August 4, student unions protested outside the educational institute demanding action against the erring student. Student groups affiliated with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who is also from Thane, demonstrated outside the Joshi Bedekar College where the incident took place, as stated in a report by PTI.
The college management has said that they have suspended the student, who can be seen beating NCC cadets during a physical training session on a rainy day. A fellow student is believed to have filmed the thrashing.
Shinde group's student wing member Nitin Landge said, "The NCC cadets who were at the receiving end and their parents were under extreme pressure from the college management to not complain against the senior." The college must take the incident seriously and lodge a police complaint, he added.
Members of the student wing of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) submitted a memorandum to the college management demanding strict action against the senior student. The student group linked with the Sena (UBT) was led by Kiran Jadhav. Moreover, a large number of policemen were deployed at the spot to prevent the protesters from barging into the college, as stated in a report by PTI.
The viral video, which sparked public outrage, showed eight cadets in a puddle amid rain, with their heads pinned in the muddy soil instead of using their hands for support. The senior NCC cadet is seen standing behind them, holding a stick, and whacking each of them one by one for failing to execute his challenging drill. The cadets are seen in a push-up position in a water-logged area with their feet and heads touching the ground and hands folded above the back.
Giving more details, a university senate member said, "The cadets are seen in a push-up position in a water-logged area with their feet and head touching the ground and hands folded above the back. When a cadet changes posture, the senior student is seen thrashing him with a stick and going on to thrash others too." Disclosing the reason behind this incident, the member said, "The NCC instructor for this unit was transferred recently. Senior cadets taking over in the absence of teachers led to this incident."
The Joshi Bedekar College in Thane operates the NCC unit along with two other sister concerns, Bandodkar College and VPM Polytechnic. The student, who belonged to Bandodkar College, has been suspended. Further, a college source said their administration has taken cognisance of the incident and is taking punitive action and corrective measures.
Meanwhile, a few senate members of Mumbai University have approached the vice-chancellor, seeking action against the college principal for allowing the students to act as NCC instructors after the instructor was transferred to another college, as stated in a report by PTI.
