AHMEDABAD: The police have arrested two men and are looking for more after students hailing from different foreign countries were assaulted allegedly by a group of persons in the Gujarat University hostel in Ahmedabad for offering namaz there, police said on Sunday.
Two students one from Sri Lanka and another from Tajikistan were hospitalised after the incident which took place in the A-block hostel on Saturday night, they said.
An FIR was registered against 20-25 unidentified accused persons under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for rioting, unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt, damage to property, and criminal trespass, among others, and two persons identified as Hitesh Mevada and Bharat Patel have been arrested so far, DCP (Zone 7) Tarun Duggal said.
Nine teams have been formed to conduct a probe into the incident, Police Commissioner GS Malik said.
Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi held a meeting with police officers and directed them to take strict and judicial action in the matter, Malik said.
The incident was reported at around 10:50 pm on Saturday when nearly two dozen people barged into the (government-run) Gujarat University’s hostel and raised an objection to students from foreign countries offering namaz in the facility where they stayed, the police officer said.
“Some 20-25 people entered the hostel premises 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,” Malik said.
Two students, one from Sri Lanka and another from Tajikistan, have been hospitalised, he said. Police will take strict action against all those involved in the incident. (PTI)
