Five people were injured in a mob attack on a dormitory in Gujarat due to Namaz incident

A mob allegedly attacked international students offering prayers inside a Gujarat University hostel

Ahmedabad:

Five international students were injured after a mob stormed a Gujarat university hostel last night and attacked students from African countries, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, allegedly for offering prayers. State Home Minister Harsh Sangavi has reportedly spoken to senior Gujarat police officers and directed them to arrest the accused as soon as possible and ensure fair investigation.

Students say there is no mosque on the Ahmedabad campus, so they gather in their hostels for ‘taraweeh’, an evening prayer during Ramadan. Students claimed that shortly after, a mob armed with sticks and knives stormed into the hostel, attacked them and vandalized their rooms. Students said security at the dormitory tried to stop the rioters but failed.

A student from Afghanistan said people in the mob raised slogans and asked them who allowed them to hold worship in the dormitory. “They also attacked us in the room. They broke laptops, mobile phones and bicycles,” he said.

The five injured students include one each from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan, and two from African countries, the student said. “When the police arrived, the rioters had already fled. The injured students are being treated at the hospital and the embassy has been notified.”

Videos shared on social media showed damaged bikes, broken laptops and vandalized rooms. In some videos, people can be seen throwing stones at dormitories and verbally abusing international students. In the video, international students said they were “scared” and “this is unacceptable.”

In one of the videos, a young man in the mob can be heard asking the security guard, “Why are they holding worship, is this the place?” At which point a student screams, approaches the young man and attacks him . Some users on social media claimed this sparked mob violence.

Hyderabad MP and All India Muslim Majlis-e-Ittehadul Majlis chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the incident and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah if they would intervene.

“What a shame. Your devotions and religious slogans only come when Muslims peacefully practice their religion. When you become inexplicably angry just at the sight of Muslims. If not mass radicalization, this is What? This is @AmitShah’s home town & @narendramodi, will they step in and send a strong message? I’m not holding my breath. @DrSJaishankar Anti-Muslim hatred in the country is destroying goodwill in India,” he posted on X Zhong said.

Ahmedabad police chief JS Malik said they have started an investigation. “There are about 300 overseas students studying here. They are from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and African countries. Some of them were praying on the terrace yesterday. Some people came and asked them why they were doing this and said they should pray in the mosque… … This led to heated exchanges and fights. Outsiders then threw stones and vandalized dormitory rooms.”

The senior police officer said police rushed to the scene soon after receiving the call. “We have formed nine teams to investigate the matter. We have identified one person. Complaints have been received against 20-25 people and an FIR has been registered. We will patrol the video. We will take action against those involved Strict action,” he said, adding that the situation was under control.