More than 300 Kashmiri students studying in outside states are returning home after facing continuous attacks and threats during the past three days.
The students who are returning home in various groups were putting up at private rented accommodations in Dehradun, Haryana and other places.
“The students are leaving from Dehradun, Haryana, Jalandar and Jaipur as we are not feeling secure there. We were harassed by mobs who also threatened our landlords for accommodating us at their rented accommodations,” said one of the students who reached Jammu on Monday morning along with other 50 students. The students are putting up at Makkah Masjid in Jammu.
He said the students had no option to vacate their rented accommodations as they were under continuous threat. “The height of harassment is that we were not provided any transport facility by transporters in Dehradun. Transporters said they have decided to go for social boycott with Kashmiri students and won’t ferry us to our homes,” the student said. They said the transport was arranged from Himachal for the students.
The students facing harassment from locals in Dehradun were asked by their landlords to vacate accommodations fearing attacks on their properties after the militant attack in Pulwama on Thursday that left 49 CRPF personnel dead.
“We suffered a lot in past three days. After facing threats from mobs, we were given shelter by a local for two days and later we left for our homes,” a student said.
A female student from Dehradun said they were leaving the place and would join their families putting up at Delhi.
“We are putting up at rented accommodations but I and my classmates have booked tickets and are leaving for Delhi tomorrow (Tuesday),” said a student studying at Gadwall University Dehradun. She said the university authorities have also informed the Kashmiri students to return home.
“Only the students living in university hostels are safe but those putting up in rented accommodations are not,” the student said.
Earlier, a video surfaced on social media wherein some people were asking Kashmiri students to vacate their accommodations in Mullana. In another video, two Kashmiri students were threatened to vacate their private accommodation. The development was confirmed by Mullana Police that said an FIR was registered in this regard.
“We have over 500 students here and we will ensure that all remain safe,” a police official said.
Meanwhile, some Kashmiri students, in coordination with Khalsa Aid Punjab, have arranged vehicles for the stranded students in Dehradun.
“The students have registered their names with the Khalsa Aid and will be ferried to Jammu,” a student said.
Amid threats and harassment faced by the Kashmiri students, the authorities in two Dehradun colleges have decided not to admit Kashmiri students anymore in the institutes. On Monday, the SUS Engineering College Tangori Jalandhar suspended two Kashmiri students for their posts on social media.
As per the suspension notice issued by the principal of the college, the two engineering students have been suspended from the college “with immediate effect.”
Earlier four Kashmiri students were suspended by the authorities in National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), a private university, for their posts on Internet.
The J&K government stated that Liaison Officers in various states were in constant touch with local administrations and college authorities in outside states to ensure that the “students from J&K are not put to any inconvenience.”
