Kannur: Two senior students of Nirmalagiri College in Kuthuparamba have been booked for allegedly subjecting a Dalit student to casteist abuse after she questioned their unruly behaviour during a college function.

Kuthuparamba police registered a case against Adwaith and Ashbin, both third year students, based on a complaint filed on Friday by Daya V C, a 19-year-old BA English student and resident of Nirmalagiri.

According to the FIR, the incident took place around 4.30 pm on Thursday at the college auditorium in Kandamkunnu.

Daya, who belongs to the Vannan community, a Scheduled Caste, intervened after seeing the two accused allegedly push other students while dancing on stage. When she asked them what the problem was, Adwaith, the first accused, allegedly referred to her caste and made more such remarks in front of other students, the complaint said.

The second accused allegedly verbally abused her using obscene and derogatory language, the FIR said.

Police registered a case under Section 296(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with the use of obscene words in or near a public place, and Sections 3(1)(s) and 3(2)(va) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Section 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act deals with abusing a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe by caste name in a place within public view. Section 3(2)(va) applies when a person commits an offence listed in the Act’s Schedule against an SC/ST member, knowing the person’s caste identity. If convicted, the students could face imprisonment for six months to five years, along with a fine.