Chennai: In an another case of cow vigilantes running amok, an Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) Ph.D. scholar was brutally thrashed by alleged right-wing students for organising a 'Beef Fest' in the campus.
The student, identified as R Sooraj, reportedly organised a beef fest in the IIT-Madras campus on Monday, attended by at least 50 students, to protest against the central's government recent ban on sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter at cattle markets.
During the attack, he suffered severe injuries and also sustained a serious fracture in his right eye.
An eye-witness told CNN-News18 that the attackers warned for more assaults in future and also issued death threats to all the ‘beef eaters’ on the campus.
A media report said that the protesting students, who took part in the fest, belonged to the Progressive Students' Union of the IIT.
Earlier today, the Madras high Court granted a four-week stay on the central government's notification to ban the sale and purchase of cattle meant for slaughter purpose. The Madurai bench of the high court also directed the state and Government of Indian to file a reply on the issue within four weeks.
The new Central rule has drawn criticism in South, especially in Kerala, where a huge controversy started after some Youth Congress workers slaughtered an ox in public over the weekend.
The Congress suspended the workers and later party vice-president Rahul Gandhi condemned the incident, calling it a "thoughtless" and "barbaric" act.
The Left-led Kerala government has opposed the Central rule. Since the Central notification was issued, the CPM has held over 300 "beef festivals" across Kerala, where cooked beef was freely served.
