ABVP, BJYM leaders held for attacking students at Valsad college hostel over Matki-phod clash

On September 3, Vanraj Arts and Commerce College in Dharampur, Gujarat hosted a Matki-phod event, a traditional team sport that symbolizes Lord Krishna's affinity for butter. The event took place a day before Janmashtami and involved students forming a human pyramid to break a pot filled with curd. The following day, on September 4, a group of students, accompanied by officials from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Bharatiya Janata Youth Morcha (BJYM), allegedly attacked five fellow students who were involved in a fight during the previous day's event.

All six accused individuals, who are outsiders, were arrested by Dharampur town police on charges of rioting and voluntarily causing hurt with weapons. The arrested persons include Manan Patel, the district convenor of ABVP, Jaydeep Pawar, the ABVP Kaprada taluka convenor, Rohan Patel, the ABVP secretary of Dharampur town, Prakash Bhoya, the BJYM vice president of Valsad, and Harsh Thakker and Prem Mahala, residents of the Valsad district.

According to Dharampur police inspector N Z Bhoya, the injured students are in stable condition, and the police are currently searching for other individuals who may have been involved in the incident.