In yet another incident of moral policing, a few male and female students were subjected to violent acts while waiting at a bus stop in Palakkad. On Friday the 22nd, students from the Karimba Government Higher Secondary School met with an unexpected (and unnecessary) reaction from a group of locals as they sat beside each other at a bus stop. The locals, a group of 10 persons, verbally abused, questioned and beat up the children who were seen sitting next to each other.
The locals had intentionally approached the students to question their intentions while hurling abuses at the girls. It is when the boys intervened that the physical blows started to come in. When the ruckus started to attract a crowd, the locals ran away from the spot.
Four students have sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment. They lodged a complaint with Kalladikode Police.
Two culprits, Siddiq (50) and Hareesh (28) have been arrested by the police. According to the students’ statements to the media, they have constantly been subjected to moral policing by the locals, even if they stand together at the bus stop. Thankfully, the police were able to attain CCTV footage of the incident.
The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) marched toward the bus stop and demanded that the culprits be found and charged. The police have registered a case against the culprits under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 341, 323, 324 and 294 B.
This incident comes days after CET students in Trivandrum protested against locals chopping down the seats at a bus stop to prevent boys and girls from sitting together.
