Jul 5, Bengaluru, DHNS : An excursion, meant to be full of fun and frolic, turned disastrous for five students from Bengaluru after they were thrashed by locals who thought they were cattle thieves. The incident occurred at a village in Katukanapalya, Ramanagara district, early on Monday.

The victims have been identified as Amruth Jai, a fourth year MBBS student of Rajarajeswari Medical College, Prithviraj, a third year engineering student of Jain College, and Vedamurthy, Raghu and Srikanth, who work in a private firm. While Murthy sustained severe injuries on his legs, the others suffered injuries to the head and face, police said. They are undergoing treatment at Rajarajeswari Medical College.

According to Vedamurthy, the students had gone to Savanadurga on Sunday. They decided to return only on Monday morning as it was late in the night and they were drunk. When they were resting, a large number of villagers started attacking them with lethal weapons, accusing them of being cattle thieves. They pleaded with the villagers, but in vain. Despite repeated requests, the villagers did not even give them water, Vedamurthy said.

The villagers claimed cattle and sheep were being stolen every day for the last few months. As the police did not take any action, the villagers formed teams and began night patrolling. While patrolling on Sunday night, they spotted the students’ car. Assuming the thieves were back, the villagers attacked the students.