Kashmiri students have been thrown out of an Indian university for supporting Pakistan’s Asia Cup victory against India.
The students have been permanently expelled from Swami Vivekananda Subharti University in Meerut city of Uttar Pradesh, after a group of local Indian students allegedly beat them up for celebrating Pakistan’s win over India in the Asia Cup match on Sunday.
The Kashmiri students were watching the India-Pakistan Asia cup match with their peers who came from other parts of India in the campus on Sunday evening. However, trouble started when India lost the match and Kashmiri students celebrated Pakistan’s victory.
“When Indian team was in stronger position, the Indian students were cheering. And when Pakistan team was in strong position, we cheered,” a third year B Tech student wishing anonymity said.
He said: “Finally when India lost, we cheered and this anguished and enraged our fellow Indian students.”
The angry Indian students, he said, started to physically attack the Kashmiri students. He said had their senior not intervened, the enraged students would have “lynched” them to death.
“They ruthlessly thrashed ten boys. Our seniors saved us from their wrath,” he said, adding: “When we went to the hostel to sleep, the students broke the window panes of our rooms. They terrorized us throughout the night.”
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Protest
On Monday morning, Indian students staged protests on campus demanding the expulsion of their Kashmiri peers. In addition to hurling abuse, the student protestors also accused Kashmiri students of breaking window panes. He said succumbing to the pressure of the Indian students, the university’s administration decided to expel all Kashmiri students to leave its premises.
“We were told to leave the university as soon as possible. The administration also fined us Rs 5000 without any reason. We’re being punished for supporting Pakistan cricket team,” he said.
“Around 5:45 pm, we were forced out of campus by security. They were in no mood to listen to us. They have succumbed to the pressure of the fanatic students,” he added.
He said that at least 25 Kashmiri students were studying at Swami Vivekananda Subharti University.
Rabia Baaji, coordinator of Kashmir consultancy, which sends Kashmiri students to outside institutes, said: “I was not aware of the alleged thrashing of the Kashmir students or their ouster from the university.
“However, this evening, I received a mail from the chairman, Atul Krishna, of the university about the incident. He mentioned that this year the university has decided not to accept any Kashmiri students.
“The varsity chairman has also written the Kashmir students should be sent to Pakistan for studies.”
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Meerut, Aukar Singh, said: “You have brought the issue in my notice and there is no need to worry, I will investigate it.”
He denied that police have interfered in the issue so far.
