Is NIT Silchar above law? No action against students for brutal assault on mess workers

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” famously said Martin Luther King Jr. Three poor, less educated mess workers employed in Hostel 4, were humiliated, abused and brutally assaulted by a mob of students. A few seconds of the multi-episodic torture got captured in a video clip.

The incident happened on July 26 and the video surfaced the next day. An FIR has also been lodged by one of the three victims of the mass assault.

Barak Bulletin spoke with one of the victims and he said that he still has pain in his chest and ears. He confirmed that the Police did not establish any contact with him as a part of the investigation. However, the manager he reports to, informed him that the students are willing to cover the cost of the treatment. A clear instance of pressurising the victim to withdraw the case.

Meanwhile, the Cachar Police under Numal Mahatta as the SP, took immediate action against culprits whenever such videos surfaced. In fact, with respect to the case of NIT Silchar, Additional SP Crime, Dr. K Das visited the campus along with OC Silchar, Amit Singh. The visit appears to be an eyewash, as the culprits clearly visible in the video remain free.

Registrar of NIT Silchar, KL Baishnab briefed the press a day after the video surfaced and assured immediate action. If sources in the NIT are to be believed, Dean Students’ Welfare is leading a committee formed to investigate the case and furnish a report. They are believed to have interrogated four students. Three security guards who could be seen in the video have been suspended by Vanguard – the association contracted for the security arrangements of the campus. Again three poor men face the wrath of action for being the witness while the perpetrators of the crime remain shielded.

For the freshers, a few students of NIT Silchar assumed that three mess workers had been stealing their items and so they were confronted, forced inside a van, trapped in Hostel 9, assaulted brutally, and then dragged to the barack of security personnel, and assaulted again.

“We are employed in Hostel 4 but we were assaulted by Students of Hostel 6 and Hostel 9 among others. If we were thieves and stealing items, students of Hostel 4 would have raised the issue,” said one of the three victims.

NIT Silchar is one of the top-tier Engineering Institutions in the country and a badge of honour for Barak Valley. Students of NIT Silchar or and its erstwhile avatar, REC are in Silicon Valley working in top firms, they are in PSUs building the nation, some of them went on to crack UPSC and became the deputy commissioner, many former students are now professors of NIT Silchar and other Engineering Colleges of the country. Applicants need to crack the tough entrance examination and secure a high rank in order to get to NIT Silchar. But does any of it make NIT Silchar bigger than the law? Professors are left to investigate a crime as severe as assault, which is even termed as an attempt to murder.