NEW DELHI: Four Indian medical students sustained injuries, with one of them in a critical condition, in a stabbing incident that occurred inside the hostel premises of Bashkir State Medical University (BSMU) in Russia’s Ufa city on Saturday evening.
All India Medical Students Association (AIMSA) has written to the Prime Minister to take immediate steps to ensure justice for the attacked students.
A knife wielding teenager, a localite, stated to be mentally unstable by students, was behind the attack.
The 16-year-old attacker is said to have set off a minor explosion on the ground floor of the hostel to force the students to come out of their rooms.
Gaurav, a native of Maharashtra who was stabbed in the abdomen, is critical and in hospital. Avinash, Harideep and Harshwardhan are the other injured students, said Dr Mohammad Momin Khan, National representative of AIMSA.
Nearly 3,000 Indian students pursue medical courses in BSMU. Barring a few Dentistry students, most study MBBS.
TNIE spoke to a third-year MBBS student, a resident in the BSMU dormitory where the attack took place.
Requesting anonymity, he said, “It was a normal Saturday afternoon. My friends and I had just entered our rooms in hostel after purchasing groceries. We suddenly heard a loud noise and desperate screams from some students and rushed out. A youngster with a knife was charging at a few students. Many students who came out rushed inside their rooms and locked themselves inside out of fear.” He added, “The attacker looked mentally unstable or was probably very drunk.”
The students inside the rooms called up the police who rushed to the spot. “The attacker also injured two cops before a good number of them overpowered him and took him into custody,” the student added.
Khan, who has been assisting the students, said that a few of them informed him that the attacker had initially set off a firecracker, which exploded loudly, and this forced some students to rush out of their rooms. A few students were attacked twice during visits to malls two months ago, he added.
Some of them managed to take a few videos of the incident from the windows of their rooms. Video footage of the incident released by AIMSA showed much blood on the floor and shattered glass pieces after the attack.
According to popular Russian Telegram channel Baza, the attacker was allegedly a staunch supporter of a neo-Nazi organization that is designated a terrorist organization and banned in Russia. He is said to have drawn a swastika on the wall with the blood of one of the victims. These aspects could not be independently verified.
Appeal to PM for protection
In the letter addressed to the Prime Minister, AIMSA called for the urgent protection of Indian students in Russia. Stating that any act of violence, discrimination or hostility against Indian students is unacceptable, it asked the government to “take immediate diplomatic steps with the concerned authorities to ensure justice for the attacked students.”
It appealed for clear advisories and emergency helplines for Indian students facing threats of discrimination.
“Such incidents not only endanger the lives and dignity of students but also create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity among thousands of Indian medical students studying abroad,” said the letter signed by Khan and National president of AIMSA Dr Jitendra Singh. It called for strict monitoring and coordination with foreign universities and governments to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.