Kashmiri Students Attacked in Maha, Forced to Say ‘Vande Mataram’

A video of the incident has gone viral on social media and a case has been registered.

Photo used for representation.

(Photo: PTI)

In the latest incident of assault on Kashmiri students after the Pulwama terror attack, students from the northern state studying in a college in Yavatmal were attacked by members of Yuva Sena, the youth wing of Shiv Sena, police said on Thursday, 21 February.

The attack happened on 20 February, police said. The students were also threatened, they added.

A video of the incident has gone viral on the social media and a case has been registered at the Yavatmal police station. The students were attacked around 10 pm outside their rented accommodation on Waghapur Road, police said.

The students were from the Dayabhai Patel Physical Education College, police said.

Yavatmal SP M Rajkumar told PTI that some students from Kashmir, residing at Vaibhav Nagar under Lohara police station were attacked and threatened by some activists of Yuva Sena.

‘We Were Asked to Say Vande Mataram’

"The Kashmiri students were returning home after having dinner outside when activists of Yuva Sena intercepted them and slapped them. The video of the incident is there on social media. The victims lodged a complaint at Lohara police station Thursday. Police identified the culprits and have also apprehended the main accused in the incident," Rajkumar said.

A victim of the attack said, “We were asked to say ‘Vande Mataram’ if we want to live here. They slapped us and abused us when we were returning from market on Wednesday evening,” he said.

"The attackers asked us to vacate our rooms here and return to Kashmir within four days," the student said. We were warned that if we failed to return to Kashmir, they would kill us," he said. "Some members in our colony intervened and saved us," he adding that they have nothing to do with the Pulwama attack.

“We have come here to study. If we go back to Kashmir, the situation over there is also bad. Neither can we study there nor are we allowed to study here,” said the victim.

Necessary to Teach Pak a Lesson Without Harming Anyone: Aaditya Thackeray

Asked to comment on the incident, Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray said, "There is resentment across the country over the Pulwama terror attack. While it is necessary to teach Pakistan a lesson, one should realise nobody is troubled while doing so."

The young leader, son of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, said he would conduct an investigation into the Yavatmal thrashing incident and take the necessary action after truth is ascertained.

He also called for unity among Indians.