Kottayam: A tribal student from Kerala studying at the London School of Economics has come out against the Students Federation of India (SFI) alleging that he was physically and mentally tortured.

Binesh Balan from the northern district of Kasargod has made these charges in his Facebook post.

SFI, which was in the forefront of the movement to protest in the Rohit Vemula issue where the student of the University of Hyderabad committed suicide in January 2016, went to the extent of thwarting Binesh’s attempts to go abroad for higher studies, the post says. It even put up posters branding him an `Islamic terrorist supporter’, he said.

In spite of knowing that he belonged to a tribal community, SFI activists bashed him up, he has alleged. He also accused the local university officials of turning a blind eye to his pleas to help him get a recommendation letter to receive a scholarship to go abroad. “Now they make tall claims of supporting me in getting the scholarship,” he adds.

Binesh said the university was responsible for his losing opportunities thrice to get a scholarship to study abroad, including Sussex University.

Binesh is the first Scheduled Tribe student from Kerala to get the national overseas scholarship.