Aishe Ghosh told Pinarayi Vijayan that her assailants repeatedly hit her on the head with rods. “That’s how they are trained,” the veteran Marxist replied.

Aishe, the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union who was beaten up my masked men allegedly affiliated to the RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), met the Kerala chief minister and CPM politburo member in New Delhi on Saturday.

As Aishe and the others entered Cochin House, Vijayan rose up and said “Aishe”, smiling and putting his hand on her head. After asking her about her health, Vijayan enquired about the health of the other injured students.

“I am following the news. There is huge support for your struggle,” a source present at the meeting quoted Vijayan as saying.

In a Facebook post, Vijayan said: “The power of the students’ resistance can be seen in her eyes. All the best for the fight for justice.”

After the meeting, Aishe told reporters: “Youths and comrades of Kerala, during the whole 75 days (of JNU’s strike), have been taking out solidarity marches for JNU students. It really matters a lot to us that the voice we are raising in Delhi resonates everywhere.”