CHANDIGARH: After India lost the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan on Sunday, Kashmiri students allegedly cheering the neighbouring country were reportedly beaten up at an engineering college in Sangrur and at another educational institution in Kharar in Punjab by other students, most of whom were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana.
A video on social media purportedly showed a Kashmiri student alleging that some students from Uttar Pradesh barged into their room. "We were watching the match here and some students from Uttar Pradesh forcibly came inside and hit us," a student claimed.
Sources said students hailing from Kashmir and others belonging to UP, Bihar and Haryana were watching the match in their respective rooms at Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engineering and Technology in Sangrur.
Kashmiri students are housed in two wings of the hostel of the engineering college and were allegedly cheering Pakistan and raising 'azadi' slogans. After the match finished, they allegedly burst firecrackers and celebrated the win of the neighbouring country. This did not go well with other students from UP and Bihar who went inside the rooms of the Kashmiri students and had a heated argument which led to a scuffle.
In another incident, about half a dozen students from Kashmir were allegedly beaten up at Rayat Bahrat University near Kharar by students from Haryana after the match ended.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, J&K Students Association founder and national spokesperson Nasir Khuehami claimed that Kashmiri students were thrashed in Sangrur and Kharar by students from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and they were rescued by other students. The students who barged into their rooms vandalised them, he alleged. "Some twelve students were beaten up by a group of students in Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engineering and Technology at Sangrur and another about half a dozen were thrashed at Rayat Bahrat University in Kharar," he said.
"We spoke to students who were assaulted in Sangrur last night. They informed me there is no apology from any side till now," he said.
Confirming that such an incident took place, Inspector General of Police Patiala (Range) MS Chinna said, "There was a scuffle between students from Kashmir and UP and Bihar. Both sides have apologised and have given in writing that they will not indulge in such activities in the future and will concentrate on their studies. Thus the matter has been amicably settled."