A 22-year old youth from Arunachal Pradesh was admitted on Saturday to the NIMHANS hospital in Bengaluru after police found him lying critically injured on the road in the wee hours of the morning. Police say the victim is now in coma.
The police registered an FIR on Monday, following a complaint filed by All Arunachal Students Union Association of Karnataka (AASUAK) which believes it to be a racially-induced attack.
According to the police, Khuadun Khangham was found in a semi-conscious state nearly a kilometre away from a pub in Kormanagala where he works. He had come to Bengaluru just four months ago and was staying with his friend in Kormanagala.
Speaking to The News Minute, Toko John -president of AASUAK- tells:
"We strongly believe it to be a case of racial attack. He has sustained grievous injuries. We have also got to know that it was not a road accident. Khuadun's roommate couldn't reach him on the phone till around 1 am on Saturday, despite repeated calls. It was the police who later answered Khuadun's phone. That is how his roommate came to know of the incident.”
Toko John says that AASUAK plans to organise a protest in the city to highlight the discrimination faced by the community.
"We have got in touch with our MLAs in Arunachal and have also met the City Police Commissioner in person with a request to ensure our safety as well as look into the case. We will soon begin an agitation against such attacks. Just because we look different does not mean we are from China or Japan. We too are Indian citizens," he affirms.
B Boralingaiah, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru (South East) told The News Minute that a case has been registered under Section 326 of IPC. Further sections will be added after recording the statement of the victim, the officer said.
"Since the victim is in coma and not in a position to reveal what happened, we are now in the process of checking for CCTV footage to ascertain what happened. The investigation is on," the DCP confirmed.
According to an officer of the investigating team, the police found Khuadun in a semi-conscious state and ruled out the possibility of a road accident, as prima facie, it appeared to be a case of assault.