Dispute in Kerala college over helpdesk; college principal, SFI activists file cases of mishandling

Some activists of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) have allegedly manhandled the college principal of Gurudeva College of Advanced Studies in Koyilandy, Kozhikode.

The dispute was caused by a disagreement about the helpdesk that the SFI had set up in front of the principal's office in connection with admission to the new four-year graduate program. The principal allegedly interrupted the SFI's activities, so they assaulted and physically attacked the principal.

A video surfaced exhibiting the SFI activists manhandling Sunil Bhaskar, the principal, and Ramesan, a teacher, on July 1. Local SFI leaders warned the principal of additional repercussions.

SFI members, meanwhile, claimed that the principal had physically mistreated their area president, Abhinav, and that the incident had also injured his eardrum.

According to the principal, the helpdesk was set up without authorization, and the SFI activists were even collecting the student's personal information.

A case has been filed by the police against both parties. In addition to filing a report against the SFI activists for mistreating the teacher and principal, the police also filed a complaint against the principal after the activists complained that the principal had mistreated them.