Hooligans assault M’lore student on NICE Road

A night out after the TOEFL exam turns into a nightmare for Shamith

​Shamith Shetty, 22, an engineering student from Manipal, had set out to have a good time over the weekend with his friend after taking his TOEFL exam in the City. Unfortunately, he was set upon by a bunch of hooligans on NICE Road close to midnight last Saturday and assaulted with sticks and stones. The attackers took away his iPhone and wallet with cash. He was so badly injured that his final semester is at stake with doctors advising two months rest.

Shamith came to the city last Friday to take his exam on Saturday morning. He is a final semester Mechanical Engineering student at Manipal Institute of Technology. Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Shamith said, “On Saturday, after the exam, I was on my way to a friend’s house for a dinner party. I was riding pillion with my friend. At about 12.30 am, we saw five people at a distance who threw stones at us on NICE Road near Shiva Temple. The stones crashed into the helmet that my friend was wearing. A few of the missiles hit me as well. We started to scream and also tried to flag down other vehicles, but to no avail. The hooligans told us that if we screamed, they would kill us.”

Even though Shamith dodged the stone projectiles, the sticks hit the bike which collapsed on him, badly injuring him. The attackers snatched away his iPhone, a gift from his parents, and his wallet, which had about Rs 1,500 in cash. “They, however, did not take the credit card. They checked my friend Rubin’s phone and returned it to us to call the ambulance,” he said.

“Despite being such a long stretch, there are no streetlights, the main reason for the incident. When we looked around, we could see lots of broken glass on the road which meant the attackers had done the same thing to others on the stretch,” he said.

Shamith and his friend were rushed to the nearest hospital, where his friend was discharged immediately since he had only minor injuries. Shamith was to return to Manipal for his final year project. “The doctors have advised me not to walk for a couple of months and now I don’t know how I will finish my project work,” he said.

Shamith’s parents stay in Muscat and are on their way to see him.

Dr Naresh Shetty, president, M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, said, “He has got a fracture in his left leg. His bone was exposed to the assault. We have put a rod inside. He has been put under physiotherapy and if there is no infection, he should be discharged in a week’s time. But he has been advised bed rest for a couple of months.”