Students from Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir clashed in Punjab’s Moga district on Sunday during Pakistan versus England T20 World Cup final cricket match, reported The Tribune.
Nine students of the Lala Lajpat Rai College of Engineering and Management have been admitted to a hospital’s emergency ward, Senior Medical Officer Dr Sukhpreet Singh Brar said, adding that a few others sustained minor injuries and were given first-aid.
Assistant Sub Inspector Jaswinder Singh said that the students threw stones at each other, reported NDTV.
Students from Bihar alleged that their Kashmiri counterparts raised slogans in Pakistan’s support.
Abhishek Raj, a Bihari student, claimed the clash began after the students from the other group assaulted the hostel warden when he tried to stop sloganeering.
“When 10 overs were completed of the England team, they [Kashmiri students] were abusing,’ he alleged. “So our senior told us to go inside or there will be a clash. They were raising slogans hailing Pakistan and demeaning India. Our warden went to talk to them about it. They assaulted him. We could not let him be thrashed. We went to save him.”
On the other hand, Momin, a student from Jammu, claimed that the students from Bihar abused Islam which led to the clash.
“Then all of us started shouting slogans hailing Islam,” he said. “We were abused in front of the warden. We did not raise slogans demeaning India. The clash happened from both sides.”
The assistant sub-inspector, however, denied that there was any sloganeering.
A large contingent of the police has been deployed on the college premises.
Pakistan lost the match by five wickets to England, which had defeated India to enter the final.
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