Shillong: Following an altercation during the Holi celebration that resulted in the alleged assault of North Eastern Hill University Student Union (NEHUSU) vice president Easterson Sohtun, conflicting accounts have surfaced.
A member of the World Organisation of Students and Youth (WOSY) Meghalaya chapter, Sumarlin L Mawlong, has clarified the incident, stating that it was misrepresented.
Sumarlin L Mawlong alleged that the clash was initiated by an unprovoked attack from NEHUSU Vice President Easterson Sohtun during the Holi celebration.
Mawlong said that Kamlesh Singh, who is a member of ABVP, is a student of NEHU and so it was not true that outsiders were invited to the event.
In response to NEHUSU filing an FIR due to the injuries sustained by its vice president, WOSY lodged a counter FIR, claiming that Sohtun and two others instigated the altercation.
NEHUSU staged a protest against the incident at the University on Tuesday.
The clash occurred between purported members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at the NEHU campus on Monday. Claims were made that NEHUSU members reportedly prevented RSS and ABVP members from celebrating Holi within the campus premises.
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According to Sohtun’s FIR, around two hundred RSS and ABVP members entered the campus to celebrate Holi, but NEHUSU members intervened, citing university regulations prohibiting celebrations and political activities on campus.
Sohtun had alleged that three individuals, including Kamlesh Singh, Amit Tripathi, and Anubhav Pandey, had assaulted him.
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