Chennai: A student of Presidency College, Chennai, who was grievously injured in a clash with students of Pachaiyappa’s College at the Moor Market Suburban Railway Station, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday.
The deceased, identified as Sundar, was a third-year Political Science student.
The Chennai Police have booked five students from Pachaiyappa’s College on murder charges.
The students charged with murder have been identified as Easwar, Chandru, Yuvraj, Kamaleswar, and Hariprasad.
Sundar, after being attacked on October 4, bled from his nose and was immediately rushed to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH).
Police said that the clash was part of an inter-college student rivalry, which frequently escalates during commutes on public transportation, such as suburban metro trains and state-run buses.
This culture, identified as “Route Thala” or “Route Leader”, involves students from a college leading a gang to assert dominance and satisfy their egos by attacking students from other colleges.
This often results in grievous injuries and, in some cases, fatalities, as happened with Sundar.
Greater Chennai Police said “Route Thala” or “Route Leader” culture in city colleges was a major cause of gang rivalries, which often escalate into street fights, creating fear among fellow commuters.
According to the police, each bus or train route has a “Route Thala”, and clashes frequently occur between students from Pachaiyappa’s College, Presidency College, and Nandanam Arts College.
According to a senior police officer, this phenomenon began in the early 1990s when some college students tweaked the lyrics of popular movie songs. This provoked students from other colleges, who retaliated with countersongs. These face-offs soon spread to bus and suburban train routes.
Despite the efforts of Chennai Police to identify the gangs involved and coordinate with the principals of the concerned colleges, such incidents continue to occur regularly on public transport routes.
–IANS