Four Kashmiri students were on Monday allegedly beaten up after a rumour spread that they had cooked beef in their hostel room. The incident took place at Mewar University in Chittorgarh city of Rajasthan.
According to Indian Express, a scuffle broke out after local students alleged that the Kashmiri students were cooking beef in their hostel room. There are around 800 students from Jammu and Kashmir in the university, which has a 'no non-veg' policy.
After the incident, some Hindu activists reportedly also reached the campus and raised slogans against the university administration. The meat being cooked has been sent for forensic tests.
The daily quoted Chittorgarh SP Prasanna Khamesara as saying that the incident occurred due to a misunderstanding and the situation had been brought under control before it could escalate.
“Some mischief mongers spread rumours that the students were cooking beef. But prima facie it didn’t look like beef. We have sent it for forensic testing just to be sure,” he added.
Meanwhile, the administration has said that the issue has been blown out of proportion, adding that they have students from nearly 23 states of the country.
A day ago, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to look into reports that Kolkata police was seeking information about Kashmiri students residing in the state. Mamata had replied saying that the issue was related to the Centre, but assured him that J&K students were always welcome to Bengal.
Omar then questioned the Union Home Ministry's motive in reportedly compiling data about students from Jammu and Kashmir in other states.
"This raises the wider question - why is MHA ordering states to compile dossiers/data of J&K students like this?" Omar had tweeted.
