The incident came to light on Friday after a video clip of the assault surfaced on social media. In the clip, Ankit is seen pleading and crying while the four assault him with PVC pipes and then brand him with a hot iron.
Four students of a private engineering college in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh were arrested on Saturday for assaulting their classmate and branding him with a hot iron, a senior police officer said.
Bhimavaram inspector of police B Krishna Kumar identified the victim as Ankit (20), a second year student of SRKR Engineering College in Bhimavaram town.
The accused were identified as Praveen, Prem, Neeraj and Swaroop.
According to the inspector, Ankit was assaulted by the accused with PVC pipes and then branded inside a private hostel room on Wednesday. “He has been admitted to the local government hospital for treatment. His condition is alright now,” Kumar told HT.
The inspector said the attack was in connection with Ankit’s relationship with a woman, but he refused to elaborate. “The details are being investigated,” he said.
The incident came to light on Friday after a video clip of the assault surfaced on social media. In the clip, Ankit is seen pleading and crying while the four assault him with PVC pipes and then brand him with a hot iron.
The four accused were on the run since Friday, Kumar said, adding that they were arrested on Saturday morning. “Based on the complaint given by Ankit, we have booked a case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) against the accused. We shall produce them before the court after due procedure,” he said.
College principal M Jagapathi Raju could not be reached for comment.
A staff member of the college said on condition of anonymity that the management had suspended all the four accused and they had been asked to appear before the disciplinary committee on November 8.
