Ahmedabad:

A total of five persons have been arrested by police in connection with an attack on international students at the Gujarat University hostel for offering Namaz even as the varsity decided to relocate foreign students to a new wing and engage ex-servicemen to bolster security.

Police, which have formed nine teams to probe and identify all the assailants, arrested three more persons — Kshitij Pandey, Jitendra Patel, and Sahil Dudhatiya — on Monday, adding to the initial arrests of Hitesh Mevada and Bharat Patel.

This brings the total number of arrested persons to five, police said, adding efforts were underway to nab the remaining culprits.

The incident, which involved a group assaulting students for offering prayers near the hostel block on Saturday, prompted the university to relocate foreign students to a new wing and engage ex-servicemen to bolster security.

Taking immediate measures, the government-run university has decided to transfer international students to a separate hostel designated for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) within three days.

Additionally, a foreign student advisory committee has been established, along with the deployment of ex-Army personnel to fortify the hostel premises’ security.

Gujarat University’s Vice Chancellor, Neerja Gupta, announced the immediate replacement of the study abroad program coordinator and NRI hostel warden.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Tarun Duggal said a thorough probe is ongoing, employing technical surveillance and other methods to identify remaining suspects involved in the attack.

Police have registered an FIR against 20-25 unidentified assailants for various offences including rioting, voluntarily causing harm, and criminal trespass.

Two students – one from Sri Lanka and another from Tajikistan – were hospitalised after the incident took place on Saturday night, police said.

Amid these developments, the Gujarat High Court declined to intervene as a probe agency, affirming that not every incident warrants a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

The court’s stance emphasises the role of law enforcement in addressing the matter, urging legal channels for those seeking recourse on specific issues related to the incident.

“Don’t substitute this court with police inspectors. Don’t make us the inspector of police. We are not investigating officers,” Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal said.

Police Commissioner GS Malik told reporters on Sunday that Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi had held a meeting with police officers and instructed them to take strict and judicial action in the matter.

“Some 20-25 people entered the hostel premises (on Saturday night) and objected to the international students offering namaz there, asking them to do so in a mosque. They argued over the issue, assaulting them and hurling stones. They also vandalised their rooms,” the police commissioner had said.

There are around 300 international students enrolled at the Gujarat University, including from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka and countries in the African continent, Malik said.

In a related development, civil society groups condemned the attack on international students and demanded strict action against the perpetrators and police personnel who allegedly failed to stop the attack.

Gujarat-based businessman and former chancellor of Hyderabad’s Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Zafar Sareshwala, said he has discussed the issue with senior state government officials and expressed hope that such incidents will not recur.

Sareshwala, known for being a ‘moderate’ Muslim and close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tweeted that he had taken the issue of “beating & heaping abuse to International Students” while they were offering Taraweeh (a night prayer performed during Ramadan) “I have spoken to the highest officials in the Gujarat Government. They have assured strictest & tough action against miscreants,” Sareshwala said in a post on X.

He also replied to posts on his tweet saying the students had taken permission from the authorities and that “Taraweeh in Ramadan Kareem has been going on for years”, indicating that the place near the hostel block has been designated to offer namaz.

Civil rights NGO People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) said the attack on the international students was deeply concerning and demanded stern action against the perpetrators.

The state organising committee of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) also condemned the incident and demanded action against the accused as well as policemen who, according to the NGO, were present there but did not save the students from the attack. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ahmedabad (Gujarat):

The Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested two accused persons in connection with the attack on some overseas students at Gujarat University Hostel.

“In the incident that took place in the Gujarat University yesterday at 10.30 pm, an FIR was registered against a group of 20-25 people. Nine teams were formed to nab the accused…,” Zone 7 Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Tarun Duggal said in a statement on Sunday.

“Two of those accused have been arrested. They have been identified as Hitesh Mewada and Bharat Patel. Search operations to arrest the remaining accused are underway,” the DCP added.

The FIR has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, he said adding that those arrested will be handed over to the Gujarat University Police Station for further investigation.

Earlier, on Saturday, as many as unidentified 20-25 people allegedly attacked a group of foreign students, pelted stones and vandalised hostel rooms in the hostel premises of Gujarat University in Ahmedabad while they were offering Namaz.

Describing details of the incident, Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police, GS Malik, said around 300 foreign students study at Gujarat University and around 75 of them stay in the A Block of the hostel.

“Yesterday, around 10.30 pm, a group of students were offering Namaz. Around 20-25 people came and asked them why they were offering Namaz there, adding that they should, instead, do it in a masjid. An argument broke out between them, stones were pelted and their rooms were vandalised by the people who came from outside,” the commissioner said.

“Police took swift action and FIR was registered against 20-25 people. Action will be taken against those involved in the incident. One of these outsiders has been identified. The law and order situation is under control now. Two injured students from Sri Lanka and Tajikistan have been admitted to the hospital,” he added.

The Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University, Neerja Arun Gupta, said an FIR has been registered in the matter and the police and the government have taken a serious note of the incident.

“Last night, around 10.30 pm, an incident took place in the hostel where our foreign students stay. Around 300 overseas students study here and 75 of them stay in the hostel’s A block, which is dedicated to foreign students. There was a clash between two groups after which, the issue escalated. Some foreign students were injured. An FIR has been registered. The police and the government have taken serious note of the matter and an investigation is underway. Some videos of the attack have gone viral and the police are in the process of probing what led to the incident,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed that it was in touch with the Gujarat government over the incident.

“The state government is taking strict action against the perpetrators and two foreign students were injured in the clash,” the MEA said in a post on X.

“An incidence of violence took place at Gujarat University in Ahmedabad yesterday. The state government is taking strict action against the perpetrators. Two foreign students were injured in the clash. One of them has been discharged from hospital after receiving medical attention. MEA is in touch with the Gujarat Government,” the MEA’s official spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, posted on X.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)