Kashmiri students at the Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engineering and Technology in Sangrur, Punjab were thrashed by students from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for cheering for Pakistan during their match against India in the T20 World Cup. Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets, chasing a target of 152.
Visuals of the incident were shared on social media. Videos showed rooms that were ransacked and a person could be heard saying that people from Uttar Pradesh were responsible for it.
Students from Bihar barged in their rooms, thrashed them &went on rampage, vandalised the rooms of students, damagd the hall, abusd & beat up a few others. pic.twitter.com/dA1n6pXLuu
— Samriddhi K Sakunia (@Samriddhi0809) October 24, 2021
The Police said that the Kashmiris were cheering for Pakistan, which led to the scuffle. Indian Express quoted a senior police official from Sangrur as saying, “There are about 90 Kashmiri students and around 30 students from UP and Bihar in the college. Kashmiri students stay in 2 wings of the hostel. While the match was on, the students cheered when Pakistan was hitting runs. They also raised azadi slogans.”
“After match ended, students from UP and Bihar went inside the rooms of Kashmiri students and had a scuffle with them. Later, the Kashmiri students also had a scuffle with the students from UP and Bihar. The police and college authorities pacified things overnight,” the police official added.
Nasir Khuehami, the national spokesperson J&K Students Association, said, “I have spoken to several in Bhai Gurdass Engineering and Technology College. They told me that students from Bihar had hit them, vandalised the rooms, damaged the hall, and even abused and beat up a few others.” Khuehami also demanded that Punjab Police must protect students from Kashmir studying in the state.
According to the Indian Express, Sangrur SSP Swapan Sharma has said that both sides have offered their apologies before the Police and the matter has been settled.
