Note: All the Kashmiri students in this story spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. 

On Sunday, a fight between two students escalated into a full-blown violent conflict at Gulzar Group of Institutes, located near Khanna, Ludhiana district. 

According to the students, there was a minor verbal brawl between a Kashmiri student and a few Bihari students, and the former was beaten up by them. The matter was resolved with the timely intervention of other students. However, a few hours later, the Kashmiri student was attacked by a group of 30-40 Bihari students in his hostel room. 

In the evening, the institute’s Kashmiri students gathered in the college ground and requested that the dean, Dr Honey Sharma, take action in the matter and report it to the police before the situation could escalate. The students told Newslaundry that Sharma refused. 

Later, the same group of 30 students verbally abused the Kashmiri students using slurs and slang words. This is when the Kashmiri students retaliated and the two groups physically attacked each other. 

A few minutes after the incident, the police arrived and arrested three Kashmiri students from the campus. Other students protested the arrest. The police resorted to lathi-charge and brutally beat up the protestors, according to reports. Some students were injured and one of them fractured an arm. 

The students also claim that around 60 students threw glass bottles, sticks and stones at them while they held a peaceful protest after the police attack. 

A Kashmiri student, who was injured in the conflict, told Newslaundry, “The Kashmiri students were ruthlessly beaten up by these goons. In this college, Kashmiris are afraid to even sit in their rooms. The dean of the college is very wrong.” 

He added, “When we took admission in the college, we were assured full safety against such incidents. The dean, however, didn’t take any action at the right time. When we informed him about the violence and requested him to file a report, he simply refused and asked us to file it on our own.”

The students also allege there is poor security on campus and the security guards remained onlookers during the whole conflict. 

A Kashmiri student who was injured during the stone-pelting said, “We want this matter to be resolved and the guilty students should be punished as per the rules of the college.”

One of the protestors said, “They only arrested Kashmiri students and the college dean helped with it.”

The dean, Honey Sharma, however, denied all allegations. He said, “The conflict was not about ‘Kashmiri’ students. It was a fight between two groups of students. The students didn’t come to me. All conflicts in our college are resolved by the Internal Discipline Committee and I would have forwarded it to them.”

When asked about the arrested students, Sharma said, “No arrests happened in the college.”

The students took to social media yesterday to express their dismay. A few students tweeted videos — allegedly shot on campus — of the Kashmiri student being assaulted. In a Facebook post, the spokesperson of Jammu and Kashmir Students Association claimed that they “pleaded” to Amarinder Singh, the chief minister of Punjab, for support, after which he allegedly intervened and asked for the immediate release of the detained students. The post said Singh also assured the students that action will be taken against the aggressors. 

Speaking to The Indian Express, Inspector Baljinder Singh, SHO, Sadar Khanna police station, said, “Some students from Bihar started banging utensils, to which Kashmiri students objected. Soon, two students, one from each group, had a scuffle and they sustained minor injuries. College authorities informed us. We have not detained any student and matter was sorted out through talks between representatives of both groups.”

Students claim Sharma is lying about the arrests. Newslaundry spoke to a student who affirmed that he was detained.