Hyderabad: A festive Dandiya evening at a star hotel on Raj Bhavan Road took a violent turn when a group of assailants allegedly attacked a 25-year-old engineering student on Sept 29. The student, though shaken, escaped without major injuries. Following his complaint, Punjagutta police registered a case and initiated a manhunt to trace the culprits.The youth, a second year engineering student from Langar Houz, told police that he and his friends had booked tickets for the cultural event at the hotel. Around 10.15 pm, while they were enjoying the festivities, a group of unidentified men confronted him. After asking his name, they allegedly began assaulting him without provocation. “They suddenly started punching me. I somehow managed to escape and reached Punjagutta police station,” the student said in his complaint. He alleged that with the help of friends, he identified some of the attackers as Laxman, Deepak, Bharath, and Chandra Kanth.Based on his statement, police registered a case under sections 189(2) (unlawful assembly), 329(4) (house trespass), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), read with 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Preliminary investigation suggested that the assailants may have been tipped off by some event participants about the victim’s presence as a member of a minority community. “We are verifying CCTV footage to identify and arrest the offenders,” said sub-inspector G Bharat Kumar Reddy.
