THANE: A day after the video of junior cadets being flogged went viral, the Thane police registered a suo motu non-cognizable (NC) offence against the senior NCC cadet who punished them for ‘not saluting properly’ on the campus of Vidya Prasarak Mandal College, popularly known as Thane College.

The accused has been identified as a 20-year-old student from Bhandup. He has been booked under Section 323 of IPC (voluntarily causing hurt). TOI is in possession of the NC copy. The complainant is Prakash Kadam, a sub-inspector attached to Thane Nagar police station. The police said the video that went viral was recorded on July 26, 2023.
Around 10 NCC junior cadets were subjected to corporal punishment. The accused used a plastic pipe to assault them on their backs in a bent position, the NC stated. Ganesh Gawade, the DCP (zone-1) said, “ We have taken suo motu action as the junior students were not ready to make a complaint.”

It is learnt that the juniors were subjected to harsh punishment on previous occasions as well. The initial inquiry also revealed that the senior student who assaulted the juniors is from another college in Bhandup. The NCC cadets usually visit other colleges for training purposes. Speaking with TOI, Vinda Manjramkar, vice principal of BN Bandodkar of science of the VPM said, “Inquiries are being conducted. There would be no partiality.”