The Gujarat Police has arrested five persons in connection with the mob attack on international Muslim students in Gujarat University when they were offering namaz, The Indian Express reported.
Three people – 22-year-old Kshitij Kamlesh Pandey, 31-year-old Jitendra Ghanshyam Patel and 21-year-old Sahil Arunbhai Dudhtiuva – were arrested on Monday, while two others, Hitesh Rakhubhai Mewada and Bharat Damodarbhai Patel, had been arrested on Sunday.
At least five international students were injured in the assault on Saturday night, the newspaper reported. The injured students, who are from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka, were admitted to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Hospital.
On Monday, the university decided to shift its international students to a different hostel that is meant for Non-Resident Indian students. They will be shifted within three days. The university has also directed security agencies to deploy retired Army personnel to strengthen the security of its hostel blocks, Gujarat University Vice-Chancellor Neerja Gupta told PTI.
On Sunday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs had said that the Gujarat Police is “taking strict action” against the accused persons. Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the Centre is in touch with the state government regarding the matter.
The police have booked the accused persons under sections 143, 144, (unlawful assembly), 147, 148,149, (rioting, with deadly weapons, offence committed by members of unlawful assembly), 323, 324 (voluntarily causing hurt, by dangerous weapons), 337 (causing hurt by rash or negligent act), 447 (criminal trespass) of the Indian Penal Code.
On Saturday, the students had gathered inside their hostel to offer taraweeh, which are special prayers offered during the holy month of Ramzan, since there is no mosque on the campus.
Soon after, a mob of between 20 to 25 people entered the hostel and began shouting“Jai Shri Ram”. The mob asked to know the identity of the persons who had allowed the prayers to be offered inside the hostel. They then allegedly assaulted the students with knives, stones and sticks.
The group also vandalised motorbikes, laptops, phones and other personal belongings of the students.
International students will be trained in ‘cultural sensitivity’: Gujarat University
International students at Gujarat University will be trained in “cultural sensitivity”, Vice-Chancellor of Gujarat University Neerja A Gupta said on Sunday, reported NDTV.
“These are foreign students and when you go abroad, you must learn cultural sensitivity,” Gupta told NDTV. “These students need an orientation. We will sit with them, provide cultural orientation and discuss how to strengthen their security.”
She also claimed that there had been some prior tensions between those who were part of the mob and some international students. The tensions had escalated leading to the incident on Saturday.
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