Kashmiri students allege attacks after India loses to Pakistan

Kashmiri students were allegedly attacked by their hostel mates in Punjab after India lost the match to Pakistan in the T-20 Worldcup match on Sunday.

Sangrur (Punjab):Kashmiri students were allegedly attacked by their hostel mates in Punjab after India lost the match to Pakistan in T-20 Worldcup match on Sunday. A viral video said to be taken at Bhai Gurdas College in Sangrur shows that the hostel rooms were vandalized and Kashmiri students were allegedly beaten up by students from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The issue was said to be resolved among the students and a police complaint was not filed. Nothing much could be made out from the viral visuals either.

The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association on Monday condemned the attack on over a dozen Kashmiri students by students from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in Sanguru Punjab and Kharar Mohali after the India-Pakistan match, said a press release from the Association.

In a statement, spokesperson of the Association Nasir Khuehami urged Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to take action against the accused and provide security to Kashmiri students studying and working in Punjab state.

He said students were mercilessly thrashed and punched on their faces. They were beaten to a pulp by other state students who barged in their rooms, thrashed them, vandalised their rooms and damaged their belongings.

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The spokesperson said that these incidents have increased the sense of insecurity and anxiety among Kashmiri students as well as among their parents and relatives in Kashmir.

He called upon the state and the Jammu and Kashmir governments to take effective measures to prevent such happenings and address the waning sense of security among the Kashmiri students and workers living in India. Ideally, support for a particular team should not be tagged to someone's politics or ideology. Let sports remain what it is meant to be. Cricket after all is a gentleman's game, he emphasised.

The association has taken up the matter with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, after which a senior police official from J&K spoke to DGP Punjab. They said they have taken full measures to protect all students from Kashmir and also take steps to see that the relationship between Kashmiri students and others remains cordial, he added.

He said that Association has been continuously requesting students to stay away from crowded gatherings and enjoy the game in silence.

(With input from agencies)