Hostel residents alleged Amarjeet Singh frequently harassed them
Highlights
- The accused had objections to some boys and girls talking outside hostel
- This led to an argument and he went inside hostel and beat the girl
- The accused, in a video, can be seen thrashing the girl
A bank manager in Madhya Pradesh's Indore has been charged with violent and abusive conduct after forcing his way into a girls' hostel on Friday night and beating up and verbally harassing students. Amarjeet Singh, 45, an employee at a private bank, was arrested this morning for assaulting an MBA student in a shocking incident of moral policing in the city's Bhanwar Kuan area.
Residents of the hostel have alleged Amarjeet Singh frequently targeted them by stalking, staring and hurling verbal abuses. Police say he has been booked under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to trespassing and assault.
"Yesterday (Friday) evening some friends of ours came to meet us outside the hostel. We were talking there... outside the hostel gates... when he (the accused) came forward and attacked our friends. There was some violence and then he followed us inside the hostel," one of the residents said.
"This happens often... he stares at us, shouts at us. This time our friend tried to fight back and he (the accused) immediately became angry and severely beat him," she added.
In a video of the attack Amarjeet Singh, wearing a blue t-shirt, can be seen thrashing a young girl amid cries of alarm from her friends.
On the evening of the attack, Amarjeet Singh's 67-year-old mother had objected to residents of the girls' hostel speaking to male friends outside hostel gates. As per the family of the accused, one of the girls allegedly pushed the mother to the ground, sparking the brawl.
The residents' association also objected to the number of unregulated hostels in the area.
"The accused, Amarjeet Singh, resides near the hostel. He had objections to some boys and girls talking outside the hostel. This led to an argument following which the accused fought with the boy. Later on, he went inside the hostel and beat up the girl student," Sanjay Shukla, a Station House Officer (SHO), was quoted by news agency ANI.
Friction between residents of a large number of hostels in and around the area - in which the Dev Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya Takshshila campus is located - occurs frequently, with neighbours objecting to female students standing outside hostel gates with male friends.
Indore Police have also lodged a non-cognizable report against the hostel residents on a complaint filed by the mother.
With input from ANI