A mob attacked five international students studying at Gujarat University for offering Ramadan prayers in the University hostel premises during the late hours of Saturday. The students were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment and two of them remain hospitalised.
The five students hailing from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka were offering taraweeh - a namaz offered at night during Ramadan in their hostel rooms when a group arrived there with sticks and knives questioning the practice, Hindustan Times reported. The attack happened in Block A of the university and the group allegedly damaged mobile phones, laptops, motorcycles and ransacked the foreign students’ rooms. The students told NDTV that the security guard tried to stop the mob, but he failed.
An Afghanistan student studying at the university told Hindustan Times, "Last night around 11pm, 10-15 persons from outside came into our hostel campus. Three of them entered our hostel building while we were offering namaz. They told us we were not allowed to do so here and shouted slogans of Jai Shri Ram. They pushed the security guard out and then attacked the people offering namaz. When other non-Muslim foreign national students came to our help, they were also attacked.” The student added their rooms were ransacked, and laptops, mobile phones and mirrors were damaged.
Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi spoke with senior police officials and directed them to nab the accused soon. Neerajkumar Badgujar, the additional commissioner of police (crime) for Ahmedabad city, said a FIR has been registered and attackers will be arrested soon.
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik said, "Around 300 foreign students study in Gujarat University and around 75 foreign students stay in A Block (Hostel). Yesterday, at around 10.30pm a group of students were offering Namaz. Around 20-25 people came and asked them why they were offering Namaz here & should instead read it in the Masjid. An argument broke out between them, stones were pelted and their rooms were vandalised by the people who came from outside. Police took swift action and FIR has been registered against 20-25 people. Action will be taken against those involved in this. One person has been identified. The law and order situation is under control now. Two students from Sri Lanka and Tajikistan are admitted to the hospital," ANI reported.
Tweeting about the incident, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said domestic anti-Muslim hatred is destroying India’s goodwill. “What a shame. When your devotion & religious slogans only come out when Muslims peacefully practice their religion. When you become unexplainably angry at the mere sight of Muslims. What is this, if not mass radicalisation? This is the home state of @AmitShah & @narendramodi, will they intervene to send a strong message? I am not holding my breath. @DrSJaishankar domestic anti-Muslim hatred is destroying India’s goodwill,” he tweeted.
