The city police have arrested three youngsters for abusing and thrashing a male college student inside a private bus and forcing him to alight, for travelling regularly with a girl student of another faith in the city on November 24.
The girl travelling with him is said to be his classmate.
The police identified the accused as Muthu, 18, Prakash, 21, both from Surathkal, and Rakesh, 23, from Asaigoli. They are suspected to be Hindutva activists though they have not claimed to be associated with any organisation, a police official said. They have been charged under Sections 323, 324, 504, 506 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
In a complaint filed with the Mangaluru East police, the victim, Sayyed Rasheem Umar, 20, a student of a private educational institute in Karkala, Udupi district, said he was travelling in Padmambika bus from Karkala to Mangaluru via Nitte when the group of men suddenly rushed into the bus at about 4 p.m. at Nanthoor Junction in the city. The group abused him, issued a life threat if he revealed the matter to anybody and forced him to alight from the bus. They thrashed him using canes and sticks, the student said.
