The police on Tuesday registered a case in connection with the attack on SRCC professor Vineet Mehta by DUSU president Satender Awana when he was being asked to pay fee for using the college’s swimming pool.
The police also lodged a non-cognizable report on the basis of a complaint of Awana, who said that the professor too held his collar and assaulted him following a verbal altercation, a senior police official said.
On the basis of the professor’s complaint, we have registered an FIR under IPC sections 323 (causing hurt) and 341 (wrongful restraint). There was a cross-complaint too, on the basis of which a report under IPC Section 323 has been lodged, DCP (North) Madhur Verma said.
Mehta had on Monday said that Awana had come along with a group of students to the swimming pool of the college and had beaten him when he was asked to pay fees for it.
“When asked to pay fee of Rs 200, he argued saying he is student union president and why is he being asked to pay the fees. When I told him that similar rules apply to all students, he attacked me with a rod,” he said.
Awana rubbished the charges as baseless and said he had gone to college to seek permission for some other students. “Some students had approached me saying they cannot afford the Rs 200 per day fees for swimming pool. Being DUSU president, I met the principal to request him to allow these students to use the pool at Rs 20 per day, which is the charge for SRCC students,” he said.
“I was asked to meet the teacher-incharge (Mehta) who did not agree to it and started abusing me and held me by collar. We did have an argument but I did not attack him,” he added.
While both IPC sections are bailable in nature, Section 341 is cognizable, under which a police officer has the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and to start an investigation with or without the permission of a court, a senior official said.
Congress affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) on Tuesday staged a protest at North Campus demanding that the university take an action against Awana.
Earlier in the day, 70 members of the SRCC Staff Association members also marched to Maurice Nagar police station demanding that police registers an FIR on Mehta’s complaint.