Live blog: Protests at IIT Madras a day after scholar attacked for participating in beef fest

A day after an IIT Madras scholar was beaten up allegedly by right-wing students for participating in a beef fest, the premier institute is set to witness a series of protests.

Sooraj, a PhD scholar from the department of Aerospace in IIT-Madras was allegedly attacked by eight students belonging to right-wing groups, on Tuesday afternoon. He sustained serious injuries to his right eye and was admitted to Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital in Nungambakkam.

The Chennai police have booked eight IIT Madras students for attacking PhD scholar Sooraj, and an FIR has been registered under four sections. Manish Kumar Singh and seven others have been booked under Sections 147 (rioting), 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation).

Sooraj also has been booked under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) and 341 (wrongful restraint), based on Manish Kumar's complaint. Manish had alleged that Suraj assaulted him and his hand was injured in the attack.

In a mark of protest over the Centre’s new notification making new cattle trade and slaughter rules stringent, students of IIT Madras had held a beef best on Sunday similar to the lines that were held across Kerala.

Incidentally, the Madras High Court on Monday had stayed the new notifications for four weeks while observing that it was an individual’s right to choose his oo her own food. The Madurai bench of the Madras HC also sought a response from the state and central governments on the matter in four weeks’ time while hearing a PIL filed by a Madurai-based lawyer and activist.