Kashmiri Students Thrashed In Bangalore, Two Injured

We have sorted out the matter: Principal
Two Kashmiri students were injured after a group of undergraduates allegedly attacked them with rods and iron chairs on Friday in Gousia College of Engineering at Ramanagaram on Bangalore outskirts in Karnataka. However, the Principal of the institution claimed, “It was a small misunderstanding between the students which was later sorted out.” Kashmiri students pursuing B Tech in the institution told Greater Kashmir over phone that a group of undergraduates “let loose a reign of terror” by breaking into their hostel rooms and beating two students ruthlessly. “Wasif Khan from Lolab and Ishfaq Bhat from Pampore pursuing B Tech Engineering (Civil) received injuries in head, eye and back. The former received three stitches,” said one of their classmates.

On Thursday, he said, students hailing from Bihar and Kashmir had an argument over some issue. However, the matter was sorted out by teachers. “Kashmiri students were asked to apologize despite no fault of theirs,” students said.
“In the evening, when we were in the hostel, a group of them carrying rods broke into the rooms and started beating us. They went into four rooms and ransacked everything. They pushed Wasif and Ishfaq to the wall and thrashed them with rods and by the iron chair as if they were playing wrestling,” students added The students said their hostel rooms were locked on Friday morning by the group and they could not attend classes for the whole day. “We lodged a complaint in the Police Station but they arrested us in turn. College authorities threatened us of dire consequences for lodging a compliant,” they said.
A final year student of B Tech from south Kashmir said the group of undergraduates from Bihar was trying to rag juniors from Kashmir. “The B Tech first year students from the Valley were walking in the corridor when a group tried to rag them.
The Kashmiri students tried to avoid them them but they abused them. However, students who are new in the college apologized after the college authorities intervened,” the student said.
He said police and college authorities did not cooperate with them rather “blamed us for misbehaving with others.” “It is completely frustrating here the way college authorities are behaving with us. We are living under fear psychosis. We fear for our lives,” the student said.
He said 24 Kashmiri students study at the institution. “We are being continuously attacked. We don’t feel secure here,” the student added. Principal of the institution Muhammad Hanief, however, claimed “there has been no beating incident in the campus of such kind.” “Actually the students had entered into an argument the other day with each other. It was sorted out later,” he said. “These little things take place everywhere and we should not take them seriously.”
Parents, whose children study outside the State, have expressed apprehensions over the security of their wards and incident at Bangalore has “unnerved” them.
“Our sons have become victims of a deep-rooted conspiracy,” said, Prof Mushtaq Mehdi of Srinagar, whose son also studies at Gousia College,
A resident of Lal Bazaar Dr Shabeer Ahmad said he calls his son four times a day to enquire about his safety. “We are worried about the safety of our children as they are being harassed there day in and day out.”
Parents have expressed dismay over the “careless” approach of J&K Government in failing to ensure safety of Kashmiris outside of the state. “The plight described by students is heart-rending, condemnable and needs immediate attention of the state government and the civil society,” they said.