Mob attacks Valley students in Haryana, three arrested
R OH T AK/ JAM MU: Three people were arrested on Saturday over the assault on two Kashmir i students in Ha ryan a’ s Ma hen dar ga rh district, hours after Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti took serious exception to the incident and demanded a probe.
The two students of Central University of Haryana (CUH), A ft ab Ahmed ,23, and Amj ad Ali, 22, both pursuing MSc, were thrashed by a group near Mas a ni C how kare a on Friday when they were returning to the campus after offering prayer sat a nearby mosque.
Police said the altercation between Kashmiri students and the accused started after a motorcycle collision, following which they called in more men who thrashed the two students.
Mahendragarh SPK am al deep Goyal said on the basis of CCTV footage, police identified six persons involved in the incident. While three were arrested, efforts were on to nab the others, Goyal said. The police swung into action after Mufti urged the Ha ryan a government to take stringent action against the perpetrators and demanded a probe into the incident.
Speaking to the media, the students said the attack by a group of 15-20 people was unprovoked. “My friend and I were coming back from Mahendergarh town after offering Friday nam az when we noticed some men following us. We did not take it seriously, since we had been living here for almost two years. But suddenly, when we reached th echo wk, and stopped our bike, the men started thrashing us mercilessly,” said Aftab.
“My friend somehow managed to escape, but the group of men continued to attack me. We kept asking them what has happened and what did we do but they kept beating us,’’ said Aftab, adding that the nearby shopkeepers did not come to their rescue. “Instead of helping us, it seemed even shopkeepers soon became part of the mob and joined them in thrashing us,” Ahmed alleged.
After reaching the university, they informed the faculty about the incident, who lodged a complaint with the police. A case against unknown men under Sections 323( voluntary causing hurt) and 506( criminal intimidation) of the Indian Pen al Code was registered.
OPPN STAGES WALK OUT IN J&K ASSEMBLY
The Jam mu and Kashmir assembly also witnessed noisy scenes over the incident, with opposition members staging a walkout during zero hour, accusing the government of failing to check such incidents.
First to raise the issue were National Conference (NC) MLA Mubarak G ula nd People’ s Democratic Front MLA Mohammed Hakeem Yaseen. Criticising the attack, they said K ash miri youth studying in other parts of the country were not safe.