Foreign students attacked at Gujarat varsity over namaz, MEA steps in
Police said they had arrested two people, Hitesh Mewada and Bharat Patel, both residents of Ahmedabad, for their alleged role in the attack
Mar 18, 2024 04:21 AM IST
A group of people stormed the Gujarat University hostel in Ahmedabad late on Saturday and attacked international students who were offering namaz inside the premises, injuring five people during the melee, prompting the state police to begin a high-level probe on Sunday and arrest two men, even as the ministry of external affairs said it had taken note of the incident.
Two students – one from Sri Lanka and another from Tajikistan – were hospitalised after the attack, videos of which did the rounds on social media and drew widespread condemnation.
Police said they had arrested two people, Hitesh Mewada and Bharat Patel, both residents of Ahmedabad, for their alleged role in the attack, adding that they were on the hunt for more suspects.
Senior officers said the incident took place around 10.30pm on Saturday, when around 25 people broke into A Block of the hostel, which houses around 75 of Gujarat University’s 300 international students.
“Some students were sitting on a platform (within the hostel premises), offering namaz when the group entered, asked why they were praying there and told them to go to a mosque instead,” said GS Malik, Ahmedabad commissioner of police, citing a preliminary investigation.
According to Malik, this “led to a verbal altercation” that then “escalated into stone-pelting and physical violence”. “Some people in the group then barged into the rooms and began vandalising property,” said Malik.The students were offering Taraveeh – a special prayer offered during the month of Ramzan.
Gujarat University vice-chancellor Neerja Gupta said, “This is the first time such an incident has happened. We have been running the Study Abroad Programme (SAP) since 2005. The government and police have taken strict action and two people have also been arrested.”
“At the university we have made some administrative changes today (like decision to appoint ex-army men as security personnel and appointment of new hostel warden and new co-ordinator for SAP) and we have also decided to form a Foreign Student Advisory committee,” Gupta said.
An Afghan student said the men were shouting “Jai Shri Ram” as they “pushed the security guard out” of the building.
“Other international students who came to help were also attacked. Their rooms were ransacked and their personal devices, including laptops and cellphones damaged. Five students, including two from South Africa and one each from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka, have been injured,” the student said.
“The students were offering namaaz outside their rooms, which are not large enough. there is no mosque on campus,” said a student, who asked not to be named.
Several purported bits of footage from the incident went viral on social media and showed a group of people pelting stones and vandalising stationary motorcycles within the hostel’s premises . There are eight buildings, out of which two are for foreign students, located in posh Navrangpura area.
Gujarat Police filed a case on Sunday nightand booked the two arrested men under a slew of sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Tarun Duggal, Ahmedabad deputy commissioner of police (zone 7), said, “The police have arrested two Ahmedabad residents, Hitesh Mewada and Bharat Patel, and booked them under multiple IPC sections, including 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 447 (punishment for trespass), among others.”
Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghavi convened an urgent meeting with senior officials on Sunday afternoon, including the state’s director general of police (DGP) and the joint commissioner of police (JCP).Sanghavi did not respond to phone calls seeking his comments on the matter.
Meanwhile, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a post on X said the Gujarat government is taking strict action against the perpetrators.“An incidence of violence took place at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad yesterday. State government is taking strict action against the perpetrators,” he said.
“Two foreign students were injured in the clash. One of them has been discharged from hospital after receiving medical attention,” he added and said the external affairs ministry is in touch with the Gujarat government over the matter.
The attack also triggered a political storm.
Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi criticised the incident, questioning whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah will intervene.
“What a shame.Your devotion & religious slogans only come out when Muslims peacefully practice their religion. When you become unexplainably angry at the mere sight of Muslims. What is this, if not mass radicalisation? This is the home state of @AmitShah & @narendramodi, will they intervene to send a strong message? I am not holding my breath. @DrSJaishankar domestic anti-Muslim hatred is destroying India’s goodwill,” Owaisi said on X.
Reacting to the incident, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said it was the failure of law and order by the ruling BJP government in Gujarat. “It’s election time and the ruling BJP wants to divert the real issues of the people and hence they are allowing communal forces to take over,” said Doshi.
Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yamal Vyas said the government has taken swift action and already put two people behind bars who were responsible for the incident. “The government will leave no stone unturned to ensure that peace and order is maintained. All culprits behind the Saturday night incident at Gujarat University hostel campus will not be spared. They will all be punished,” said Vyas.
