Five international students were injured after a mob stormed a Gujarat University hostel last night and attacked students from African countries, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, allegedly for offering namaz. State home minister Harsh Sanghavi has reportedly spoken to Gujarat's top police officers and directed them to arrest the accused as soon as possible and ensure a fair probe.
The students have said that there is no mosque on the Ahmedabad-based campus, so they had gathered inside the hostel to offer taraweeh - a namaz offered at night during Ramadan. Soon after, a mob armed with sticks and knives stormed the hostel, attacked them and vandalised their rooms, the students have alleged. The students have said the security guard of the hostel tried to stop the mob, but failed.
A student from Afghanistan said people in the mob raised slogans and asked them who had allowed them to offer namaz in the hostel. "They attacked us inside the rooms too. They broke laptops, phones and damaged bikes," he said.
The student said the five injured students include one each from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan and two from African countries. "The mob had fled by the time police arrived. The injured students are in hospital and have informed the embassies.Visuals shared on social media showed damaged bikes, broken laptops and ravaged rooms. In some of the visuals, people are seen throwing stones at the hostel and hurling abuses at the overseas students. In the visuals, the international students are heard saying that they are "scared" and that "this is unacceptable.
Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi has slammed the incident and asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will intervene.
Gujarat University Vice-Chancellor Dr Neerja A Gupta told the media that there was some tension between those in the mob and some overseas students, and yesterday's events led to an escalation. "The matter is under police investigation now," she said.Dr Gupta said that since these students are from overseas, they need to be trained in "cultural sensitivity". "These are foreign students and when you go abroad, you must learn cultural sensitivity. These students need an orientation. We will sit with them, provide cultural orientation and discuss how to strengthen their security."