Srinagar, Feb 6, 2012: In India, in yet another incident of violence against Kashmiris, particularly students, police abused, thrashed and harassed without any reason a Kashmiri student pursuing engineering in a private engineering college in Haryana which has created fear psychosis among Kashmiri students in the college.
A group of Kashmiri students enrolled in the college said that the Haryana police did not only beat up a Kashmiri student but kept him in illegal detention also after he went to the police station to lodge a complaint about the theft of his mobile phone in a hostel. "The mobile phone of one of our college mates was stolen from his room in a college. After the
theft of the mobile phone, we went to the police station to lodge the complaint. When we told the police that we doubt that a local student putting up in the hostel has stolen the phone they abused us and beat up the one whose mobile was stolen and also kept him in illegal detention for hours," a group of Kashmiri students said over phone to daily Kashmir Times.
"The police at the station refused to listen to a single word from us. They told us that the Kashmiris are all terrorists and are not trustworthy,” said a student.
"You all Kashmiris are Pakistanis, having terrorist mindset. You only come here to create mess. If you have to live in India then you should do only what the Indians do," a student, Asif Ahmad quoted the police men as telling them. The students added that they are now mentally disturbed and cannot concentrate on their studies.
The students also said that the local students of Haryana who put up in the hostel are creating disturbances in their studies. "They drink liquor in hostel rooms and then disturb us. And when we raise objections they threaten us," said the students. They said that even the warden of the hostel takes no action against them, refusing to believe them, said Shabroz.
The students added that they are now mentally disturbed and cannot concentrate on their studies.
Quoting Asif Mohiuddin, a student from north Kashmir’s Handwara area, a KMN report said he had lodged a complaint with Moli Barwalla police station about loss of his mobile phone from the hostel of Pichkola college. He had named a local student, Rakesh Kalwa, as the accused. Police refused to register the case against Rakesh.
On his return at the hostel along with fellow Kashmiri students, there was an altercation between them and Rakesh. At this, Rakesh too approached the police and returned a police party to have Asif arrested.
Talking to KMN on telephone, Asif said he was called a Pakistani by Indian police officials. He said a sub-inspector told the policemen present at the police station that “he (Asif) like all Kashmiris is a Pakistani and teach them how to live in India.”
Asif said he was taken to the lock-up and beaten for four hours after which he was set free in a half-dead condition. “Rakesh’s father also came to the college and threatened the Kashmiri students that they would be killed,” he added.
He said he had informed the college administration though no action had been taken as yet. “Because of this, a sense of insecurity has gripped the Kashmiri students,” he said.
Incidents of violence against Kashmiri students in India have become order of the day. A few weeks ago, a Kashmiri student, Shabbir Ahmed from Srinagar, was shot and critically injured by two unidentified assailants in Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh. Shabbir Ahmed was pursuing his M.Phil.
It is pertinent to mention here that eminent Indian lawyer and former law minister, Ram Jethmalani in a recent interview has said that the Kashmiris are suspected everywhere in India as its law enforcement agencies have made a particular mindset about them, which, he said, needeo be changed.