Foreign students attacked for Namaz

Ahmedabad: The police have arrested two men and are looking for more after students hailing from different foreign countries were assaulted allegedly by a group of persons in the Gujarat University hostel in Ahmedabad for offering namaz there, police said on Sunday. Two students – one from Sri Lanka and another from Tajikistan – were hospitalised after the incident which took place in the A-block hostel on Saturday night, they said.

An FIR was registered against 20-25 unidentified accused persons under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for rioting, unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt, damage to property, and criminal trespass, among others, and two persons identified as Hitesh Mevada and Bharat Patel have been arrested so far, DCP (Zone 7) Tarun Duggal said. Nine teams have been formed to conduct a probe into the incident, Police Commissioner GS Malik said.

“Some 20-25 people entered the hostel premises and objected to the international students offering namaz there, asking them to do so in a mosque. They argued over the issue, assaulting them and hurling stones. They also vandalised their rooms,” Malik said. “Police will take strict action against all those involved in the incident. The overall monitoring of the case will be done by the Joint Commissioner of Police of the Crime Branch. ...The law and order situation is under control and nobody needs to worry,” he told the media persons.

There are around 300 international students enrolled at Gujarat University, including from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka and countries in Africa, Malik said. Nearly 75 of the international students stay in the A-block hostel of the university where the incident occurred, the officer said.