MP professor attacked with chilli powder and beaten up over scholarship dispute | News from India

BHOPAL: An assistant professor at a government college in India’s MP Betul state was allegedly beaten up by six men, including two students, on Friday after the college failed to accede to their demand to fast-track a student’s scholarship application.

The victim, Sanskrit teacher Neeraj Dhakad, is in hospital with a broken elbow. The attackers threw chilli powder in his eyes and beat him with sticks.

All six accused have been arrested, Betul SP Nischal Jharia told TOI. One of them is a minor. The rest have been identified by the police as Hemant Yaduvanshi (18), Lucky (19), Aniket alias Annu Thakur (27), Shivam Solanki (24) and Kunal Chadokar.

“The main accused Annu Thakur is a second year student in the college studying LLB. Kunal, a second year student in BCom, is his college mate. The others are not students in the college,” the SP said.

The incident occurred at JH Govt Postgraduate College on Friday.

“Prima facie, it appears that the main accused, who is also a local student leader, was desperate to get the scholarship of a girl student. The college officials said they would follow the procedures. This led to an altercation about 15 days ago, which probably ended like this. This is according to initial information, a detailed investigation is on,” the SP added.

Doctors said the professor was out of danger and could be discharged in a few days, Jharia added.

“We held a meeting with the college administration on Saturday. The police and the college administration have appointed a liaison officer each. We have also asked the college to ensure that the CCTV cameras are working and to inform us if any anti-social elements are seen on the premises,” Jharia told TOI.