Goons of the Akhil Bharatiya Vishwa Parishad (ABVP), an affiliatory to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), on Tuesday (26 June), blackened the face of a professor and paraded him through the campus ground at Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma Kutch University in the Bhuj district of Kutch, Gujarat.
The incident took place during the run-up to the University’s senate elections, which are scheduled for 22 July, reported The Indian Express.
A group of ABVP supporters stormed into the classroom where Girin Baxi was delivering a lecture and dragged him out and threw ‘a black substance’ on his face. “They paraded him to the chamber of university registrar and gheraoed the chamber of the vice-chancellor for nearly an hour.”
Gujarat: ABVP students blackened face of the head of the science dept.(who is also heading an election related committee)earlier today,ahead of Kutch university senate elections in Bhuj.FIR registered against accused.Kutch University VC said,”We condemn this & demand an inquiry.” pic.twitter.com/Kel2OTc5KV
— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2018
The university’s vice chancellor said that a group of students, from the RSS’ youth wing, ABVP, dragged Professor Baxi out of the classroom while he was giving a lecture, and threw a ‘black substance’ on his face. The students then paraded Baxi through the college campus to the vice chancellor’s office, and continued to protest outside, the report added.
ABVP student leaders accused Professor Girin Baxi, Associate Professor and Head of the Chemistry Department and a coordinator for the elections, of selectively rejecting voter registration forms.
“Prima facie, their claim about selective voter registration was found to be baseless as all the forms were rejected according to the rules. Regardless, we had scheduled a hearing on the issue for 4.30 pm on Tuesday, 26 June. However, the ABVP supporters became aggressive and attacked Prof Baxi,” the vice chancellor said.
Baxi was rushed to a hospital after he complained of skin irritation following the attack. The substance that was thrown at him is yet to be identified.
The Bhuj police has registered a case against a group of around 15 to 20 persons, The Indian Express reported, under section 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), and section 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from duty) of the Indian Penal Code, reported The Quint.
Additionally, charges have been levelled against the attackers under sections related to criminal intimidation and rioting, the police added.