Punish culprit who assaulted Arunachal's student: CM Pema Khandu to Siddaramaiah

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has written to his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah requesting his personal intervention in punishing the culprit who assaulted an Arunachalee student in Bengaluru recently.

Khandu in his letter written yesterday noted that though several charges were filed against the culprit - one Hemanth Kumar, a lawyer by profession - he managed to obtain anticipatory bail, an official communique said here today.

The chief minister drew the attention of Siddaramaiah towards the fact that every year, thousands of students from Arunachal Pradesh go to Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru for higher and technical education.

He said if the culprit responsible for assaulting Arunachalee student Higio Gungtey in Bengaluru is punished it would set an example to thwart similar incidents in the future.

The student from Arunachal Pradesh was allegedly beaten and forced to lick his house owner's shoes for using excessive water.

While pointing that these students face racial discrimination in one or other form, he asserted that such discrimination ought to be negated in every possible way and dissuaded forth with.

He made it clear that culprits engaged in such kind of activities should be dealt with iron hands so that recurrence of such incidents are nipped in the bud and a sense of security is instilled amongst the student community pursuing studies in his state.

"I would, therefore, seek your personal intervention in the present case to ensure that the culprit is punished according to the law of the land and justice is delivered to the victim and his family members."

"I also would like to seek your kind assurance in ensuring safety and security of our students studying in various colleges and educational institutions in your state," he added in the letter to Siddaramaiah.