Beef fest attack: protests leads to tension in front IIT-M, police deployed

Chennai: Tension prevailed in front of the IIT-Madras campus as a heavy posse of police personnel were deployed today to prevent any untoward incident as activists of various student associations and organisation assembled to stage a demonstration to condemn the attack on a Ph.D student who participated in a beef eating protest. Police sources said activists of Revolutionary Students and Youth Front (RSYF) and Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) were taken into custody when they staged protests in front of the IIT gate.

Members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students' Federation of India (SFI) activists were also arrested for staging protests. R Sooraj, Ph,D scholar and a member of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle, was attacked last evening for eating beef as part of a protest organised by a group of students inside the IIT campus on Sunday night against the Centre's decision to impose restrictions on cattle trade. Police sources said about 100 students and activists, including 20 women from RSYF, TPDK, DYFI and SFI were detained for staging demonstration.

The agitation threw traffic out of gear on arterial roads causing hardship to office-goers. The protesters shouted slogans denouncing the Centre for its decision and demanded that the attackers of Sooraj should be expelled from the institute. The agitators also demanded that the college administration must bear the expenses of Sooraj's treatment, who suffered serious injuries in his right eye. Meanwhile, the Dean of IIT-M held talks with representatives of the protesters to pacify the situation. Talks were also held with the students inside the campus after they threatened to launch an agitation demanding justice. (UNI)