A group of Kashmiri students at Jawaharlal Nehru University are among those who were targeted by unknown hoodlums suspected of being Hindu rightwing activists at the Varsity on Sunday night.
According to a student who is doing research work in a social science stream at the Varsity, the activists suspected of being activists of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP, barged into the campus and assaulted dozens of students.
Officials said 35 students were taken to hospitals on Sunday evening after a violent mob ran amok, attacking students and damaging property on the varsity campus in New Delhi.
“Of all the brutality that was perpetrated yesternight at JNU, rooms of Kashmiri Muslims and Muslims from mainland India were specifically targeted. I’m being told Sanghi mob had a list of students who they were attacking,” the research scholar wrote on his Facebook wall.
“Fire extinguishers as a suffocation method were used in a room where Kashmiris were residing,” the scholar’s post, which also had images from the scene of vandalism, said.
Brighter Kashmir has not revealed the name to avoid any inconvenience or any problem for the scholar.
The attack on students and even a faculty member of the Varsity has triggered widespread outrage with the union minister Smriti Irani calling for depoliticizing the campuses.
A senior J&K government official said any student under stress can approach the nodal officer of the UT administration in New Delhi, “Any student who is facing any kind of problem should go to Kashmir House. The officer in charge there will be happy to help them,” the JK government officer said.  Senior police officers were not available for their comments.