Manipuri student attacked in Bangalore, allegedly for not speaking Kannada

Bangalore: An engineering student from the northeastern state of Manipur was attacked in Bangalore Tuesday night by men who allegedly demanded that he "speak in the local Kannada language or get lost".

All three accused, all cab drivers, were arrested and a case of assault has been registered.

T Michael Lamjathang Haokip, the student, said that he was approached by a group of people who told him that if he was living in Karnataka and eating Kannada food, then he needed to also speak in Kannada, but added that when he did not pay heed to their demands they pelted stones at him. He has sustained injuries on his head and back.

NDTV quoted Michael as saying, "They said you are eating Karnataka food, living in Karnataka. You should speak Kannada or else get lost. They were speaking in Kannada...we nodded and they took it as an insult. They picked up stones and attacked us and I got injured."

"I don't know if those three hit us because they were drunk. Just because I am living in Karnataka doesn't mean I have to speak Kannada," he added.

The incident took place after midnight in the city's Kothanur area, home to a large number of students from other parts of the country.

Michael has alleged in his police complaint that a crowd that was watching the commotion supported the attackers. He was allegedly chased by a mob till he reached a police station.