Police on Monday arrested three more people in connection with the alleged attack on foreign students for offering namaz in the Gujarat University hostel premises. Earlier, two men, Hitesh Mevada and Bharat Patel, were arrested.
Kshitij Pandey, Jitendra Patel and Sahil Dudhatiya, all residents of Ahmedabad, have been arrested and handed over to the local police for further probe, taking the total number of the arrested accused to five so far.
Foreign students at Gujarat University were injured after unidentified men allegedly attacked them while they were offering the evening Ramadan prayers on Saturday night.
The attackers also vandalised hostel rooms and resorted to sloganeering and throwing stones.
The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement, confirmed the incident and said that the state government is taking “strict action against the perpetrators”.
An FIR for rioting was registered against 25 unknown people and nine teams were formed to investigate the incident.
In view of the recent attack, the authorities have decided to shift foreign students to a new hostel and have also set up a foreign student advisory committee, an official said on Monday.
The university has also directed security agencies to deploy ex-Army personnel to strengthen the security of its hostel blocks, the official said.
The Gujarat University authorities have replaced the coordinator of its study abroad programme and NRI hostel warden with immediate effect, its Vice Chancellor Neerja Gupta said, reported news agency PTI.
The university has decided to shift international students to a different hostel meant for NRI (Non-Resident Indian) students within three days and has also directed security agencies to deploy ex-Army personnel to strengthen the security of its hostel blocks, she said.
The Gujarat University has also set up a foreign student advisory committee, with the coordinator of the study abroad programme, assistant registrar of the legal cell and the university Lokpal as its members, Gupta said.
Directions have also been issued to strengthen the university’s security, she added.
(With inputs from Atul Tewari and PTI)
Source Agencies
