10 people from Northeastern states, most of them students, have been beaten up in separate incidents in the last three days in Kondhwa and Pune Camp areas of the city, police said today.
11 persons have been arrested in two of these cases so far, police said, adding they suspect doctored MMS clips and text messages on recent ethnic riots in Assam may have played a role in provoking these incidents.
The police are now trying to find the masterminds of these attacks and ascertain how these videos were circulated. No connection between the suspects involved in these attacks and radical Islamist groups have been found yet, the police said.
Investigations so far seem to indicate those involved in the attacks since August 8 had seen doctored videos on the rioting in Assam, the police said.
"We have arrested 11 people in two attack cases. Two of the accused are still in police custody, while nine others were released on bail. We have registered complaints for rioting and voluntarily causing hurt," senior inspector Prasad Hasabnis of Kondhwa police station said.
Meanwhile, members of the Interim Forum, an organisation of students from Northeastern India, said the students will not leave Pune since the city police, religious representatives and the Maharashtra government have assured them of full support and protection.