Kabaddi feud turns violent as 4 students assault junior in Gujarat's Junagadh, case filed after parents watch video online

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The Junagadh police on Tuesday registered a non-cognisable offence against four Class 11 and 12 students of a city school for allegedly assaulting a younger student inside a hostel room.

According to officials, the clash began during a kabaddi match on July 26, and the next day, the four students cornered the victim and thrashed him. A video of the assault recently emerged on social media, after which the boy’s parents filed a police complaint.

Junagadh Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Hitesh Dhandhaliya informed that a diary entry has been made in the police station, and the matter will be handled under the Juvenile Justice Act. The four accused have been booked under Section 115(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for voluntarily causing hurt, which carries a possible punishment of up to one year in jail, according to a report by The Indian Express.

When asked why the matter was reported only now, Deputy Superintendent of PoliceDhandhaliya explained that the victim did not share the incident with his parents initially. The case came to light only after the boy’s parents saw a video of the assault circulating on social media. They immediately lodged a complaint on Tuesday evening.

Police are now trying to identify who uploaded the video online. Investigators are also looking into whether the school and hostel management attempted to suppress the incident.

This incident comes against the backdrop of rising student violence in Gujarat. In August alone, three such cases made headlines, which includes the murder of a Class 10 student in Ahmedabad, stabbing of a Class 8 student in Balasinor city of Mahisagar, and a Class 9 student in Bhavnagar being threatened with a knife by a classmate.