NAGPUR In the latest incident of assault, Kashmiri students studying in a college in Yavatmal were attacked by members of Yuva Sena, the youth wing of Shiv Sena, police said Thursday.
The students were also threatened during the attack which took place Wednesday night, police said.
A video of the attack has gone viral on social media. It shows the Yuva Sena workers asking the students where they are from. When they say they came from Kashmir, they are slapped, beaten up and threatened with dire consequences.
The assailants can be seen harassing the students and asking them if they are ‘terrorists’ or if their relatives in Kashmir are ‘terrorists’ and go around killing Indian soldiers.
In the video, the attackers are also seen forcing the students to shout slogans like ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Hindustan Zindabad’.
The students, studying at the Dayabhai Patel Physical Education College, were attacked around 10 pm outside their rented accommodation on Waghapur Road, police said.
Yavatmal SP M Rajkumar said that some students from Kashmir, residing at Vaibhav Nagar under Lohara police station were attacked and threatened by some activists of Yuva Sena.
“The Kashmiri students were returning home after having dinner outside when activists of Yuva Sena intercepted them and slapped them. The video of the incident is there in the social media. The victims lodged a complaint at Lohara police station Thursday.Police identified the culprits and have also apprehended the main accused in the incident,” Rajkumar said
A victim of the attack told media, “We were asked to say ‘Vande Mataram’ if we want to live here. They slapped us and abused us when we were returning from market Wednesday evening,” he said.
“The attackers asked us to vacate our rooms here and return to Kashmir within four days,” the student said. We were warned that if we failed to return to Kashmir in this time frame, they will kill us,” he said. “Some members in our colony intervened and saved us,” he added.
“We have nothing to do with it (Pulwama attack).
Whatever happening is happening outside. We have come here to study. If we go back to Kashmir the situation over there is also bad. Neither can we study there nor are we being allowed to study here.
“Where will we go? We want to study here without any tension. We want to thank the police for helping us and now we are feeling a little better,” he said. Asked to comment on the incident, Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray said, “There is resentment across the country over the Pulwama attack. While it is necessary to teach Pakistan a lesson, one should realise nobody is troubled while doing so.”
The young leader, son of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, said he would conduct an investigation into the Yavatmal thrashing incident and take the necessary action after truth is ascertained.
Yuva Sena secretary Varun Sardesai, in a statement issued Thursday, said the incident was condemnable and assured that action will be taken against the attackers if they turned out to be Yuva Sena workers.
Condemning the attack, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chavan demanded immediate action against the culprits.
Action Taken Against 3 Kashmiri Girls
The Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) here has taken action against three Kashmiri girls for allegedly posting adverse remarks against the Indian Army on social media, a senior official said Thursday.
After the deadly Pulwama attack on February 14, these girls allegedly made some adverse and objectionable comments on a Whatsapp group in which other students were also members, the official said.
After the matter came to light, the institute conducted a probe and action was taken thereafter.
“The action against the three Kashmiri girl students was taken on Wednesday after a probe and local intelligence report. While fellowship of two girls has been stopped, admission of one other has been cancelled,” Registrar, IVRI, Rakesh Kumar said.
He said the two students, whose fellowship was stopped, have been warned not to indulge in any such activities in the future failing which they will be expelled.
Seven Kashmiri students were earlier this week suspended by Roorkee-based Quantum Global University for their alleged anti-national posts on social media.
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