Jharkhand: KKM hostel students beaten by cops, BJP slams Soren govt over 'police brutality'

New Delhi: About a dozen students of the KKM college in Jharkhand's Pakud district suffered injuries as the state police thrashed them inside the hostel premises, allegedly over a proposed protest march against the Bangladeshi intruders on Saturday.

Reacting to the incident, state BJP chief Babulal Marandi tore into the Hemant Soren government for "police excesses" on the hostel students and shared the "disturbing" pictures.

More than ten students are said to have been admitted to Pakud Sadar Hospital for treatment.

Student leader Kamal Murmu said the cops reached the hostel around 10.30 p.m. on Friday and warned the students against organising any protest rally.

When the students refused to obey the order, a posse of police force reached the hostel and started thrashing them, Murmu said.

"Students were pulled out of their rooms and then beaten with sticks," he said.

However, the police claimed that they reached the hostel premises while looking for a criminal. As they reached the hostel using mobile location technology, they were attacked by a bunch of students, the police claimed.

"We acted in self-defence and retaliated against the assaulters," the police said.

Pakud police station in-charge Anoop Roshan Bhengra, termed the incident as "police action" against assaulters.

Bhengra said that the hostel residents tried to give cover to a criminal linked with abduction and this resulted in the flare-up and subsequent police action.

Meanwhile, Marandi accused the Hemant Soren government of unleashing its police force to crush the voice of people against Bangladeshi intruders.

Notably, the BJP also raised the issue of Bangladeshi intruders altering the population dynamics in the Parliament recently and also highlighted the fact that how it was posing a risk to the local demography.

Taking to social media platform X, Marandi said that the students were raising their voices against the infiltrators and their motive is only to secure the sanctity and identity of their region.

"Hemant ji, what is the reason behind torturing young students who raise their voice against infiltration to protect their mothers and sisters and showering so much love on outsiders?" he asked.

"Bangladeshi infiltrators are a threat to the identity and existence of Jharkhand. By giving them protection, you are playing with the security of the three-and-a-half crore people of the state," he said further.

The BJP leader also demanded strict action against all the police personnel involved in this incident.