Principal says teachers weren’t involved; to set up inquiry committee; Thane cops take cognisance of video
Screenshots of the viral clip in which the torture of the 10 cadets can be seen
At least 10 student National Cadet Corps (NCC) members were violently beaten with a stick while being forced to maintain a push-up-like position with their hands behind their backs and heads in a muddy puddle amid rainfall on the shared campus of Thane’s K G Joshi College of Arts, N G Bedekar College of Commerce and B N Bandodkar College of Science.
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A video of the incident went viral, drawing huge criticism and demands for action. Apart from the 10, four others seen in the video, including the one holding the stick and beating the students, have been identified as senior NCC cadets. The senior is seen hitting the NCC cadets on their backs for not being able to execute what appears to be a drill or a punishment.
A few cadets are even seen crying and pleading but to no avail. Citing backlash, most students and their parents preferred not to raise the matter, but after the video went viral, Suchitra Naik, the principal of Joshi-Bedekar college, urged the students in question to come forward and identify the seniors and complain against them. Condemning the incident, Naik said that authorities have started taking action and nobody would be spared.
“These heads (perpetrators) are students and not teachers. Such an incident should not have occurred at all. It is condemnable and we take stringent action,” said Naik. She added, “The NCC has been doing very well and has done good work for the past 40 years. Such an incident does not occur in the presence of a teacher. It seems that teachers were not around when it happened. We will not spare those found guilty.”
The principal said an inquiry committee will be set up to investigate the incident. “We will initiate an inquiry, but the affected students must come forward,” she said. A senior Thane police officer told mid-day that the cops have taken cognisance of the viral video. They have called the instructor and students seen in the video for inquiries. “There have been no complaints from the college or students,” the police officer said.
Inputs from Faizan Khan
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