Assaulted African student in coma,father seeks Badal help

Yannick from Burundi,has been in coma since he was assaulted by a group of youngsters

For over two months now,Nestor Ntibateganya,59,has been waiting by the bedside of his son Yannick Nihangaza,for any sign of movement.

Yannick,24,from the East African nation of Burundi,has been in coma since he was assaulted by a group of youngsters,allegedly drunk,on April 21 in Jalandhar. Currently admitted in Columbia Asia Hospital in Patiala,Yannick is a first-year BSc student at Lovely Professional University and used to stay in a rented accommodation outside the campus.

Yannicks friends said the accused got into an argument with him while they were drinking at a liquor vend. When Yannick left,they followed him and attacked him with iron rods and stones,leaving him motionless.

Some passerby,who also noted the registration number of the accuseds vehicle,informed the police and took Yannick to hospital.

Though the Jalandhar police had registered a case against three persons and their unidentified accomplices,it has been able to arrest only two Bunny Ralhan and Sahildeep Singh. The rest,who sources said belong to influential families,are still at large.

Yannicks father Nestor said: Yannick will turn 24 this August 14. My family is waiting for us to return but I do not have any means to take my son home. Yannick does not speak or even open his eyes. The doctors say they are doing their best,but are not very positive Yannick will recover. They say even if Yannick opens his eyes,there are chances that 90 per cent of his brain has already suffered acute damage and he may have to stay in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.

Jalandhar SP Navjot Singh Mahal,who is probing the case,said: We have interrogated the two arrested accused but the identities of the their accomplices are not yet certain.

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On June 20,Nestor had appealed to CM Parkash Singh Badal for funds to pay for Yannicks medical care and to fly him home. Demanding stern action against the high-profile assailants,Nestor has urged Badal to arrest all the accused.

In a country that I believe to be a civilised one8230; I have been deeply troubled by the fact that the killers who stoned my innocent son and left him for the dead are known and still free, Nestor wrote to Badal.

But the authorities are yet to contact Nestor. Though the private hospital where Yannick is admitted is yet to charge Nestor,he expects a hefty bill. They have not charged me anything but I know that they are preparing the bill, Nestor said.

After Nestor arrived in India on April 29,he got Yannick shifted from a Jalandhar hospital to Patialas Columbia Asia Hospital.