Kochi: Director Aashiq Abu led the protest against alleged moral policing by SFI activists at University College, Thiruvananthapuram. Abu criticised the SFI students and called it a “Sangh Parivar” model attack. The issue of SFI activists assaulting a Thrissur native and two of his friends at the college became a trending topic on social media. Several persons including many Left sympathisers criticised the assault and subsequent developments.
Director Aashiq Abu, an ardent Left follower and an SFI activist himself in his college days, was silent on social media on the first day and his followers and critics questioned his silence. Abu came up with a post and severely criticised the students. “Unleashing a brutal attack on students who visit campuses is becoming common these days. Calling them anti-social and enemies is barbaric. What happened at University College is deplorable. Make sure that the persons involved, even if he is a Rs 2-member, should never hold the flag (SFI) again”, Aashiq Abu posted on Facebook.
SFI activists had attacked T.S. Jijesh working in the movie industry and his friends and college students Asmitha Kabeer and Soorya Gayathri. Many welcomed the Facebook post, but several others criticised it stating that he could have avoided the Sangh Parivar angle in the post. SFI students and Facebook pages promoting CPM and its cadre parties posted pictures of the two students of the college and their friend at the college. Girls questioned the same and challenged to disprove their version.
Asmitha claimed that Jijesh was assaulted for “sitting next to girls” and the attackers didn’t spare her and Soorya. Soorya is a second-year undergraduate philosophy student and Asmitha is a final-year Malayalam student.
