Don’t move out of campus, AMU tells Kashmiri students after Pulwama attack protests

There are about 900 Kashmiri students studying in AMU and most of them stay in the university’s hostels.

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on Sunday advised Kashmiri students “not to move out of the campus” as a precautionary measure after protests broke out in the city in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, university authorities said.

Police personnel deployed on the campus of Aligarh Muslim University in the view of protests after some students were booked on alleged sedition charges, in Aligarh on February 15. (PTI)

AMU spokesperson Shafey Kidwai said this was only a verbal advisory “issued as a precaution in the interest of AMU students, including the Kashmiris.”

There are about 900 Kashmiri students studying in AMU and most of them stay in the university’s hostels.

“After the recent terror attack in Pulwama, Kashmir, AMU students, mainly Kashmiris, have been advised to prefer staying within the university campus. In case they move out, they have been asked to remain ‘cautious’ so that they remain safe,” Kidwai said Sunday evening.

“This verbal advice has been issued by the dean, student welfare, Prof Jamshed Siddiqui,” Kidwai said.

Forty CRPF troopers were killed in Pulwama on Thursday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vehicle near a bus which was part of a large convoy heading to Srinagar from Jammu.

On Tuesday, AMU witnessed violence when two student groups clashed, leading to two cases being registered at Civil Lines police station wherein 14 varsity students were slapped with sedition charges.

The ‘advisory’ seems to have been driven by the situation after the terror attack on CRPF men in Pulwama. A Kashmiri student, Basim Hilal of B Sc Maths, was booked for making objectionable comment on social media against the slain CRPF men. The university suspended Bilal on Friday for his objectionable tweet.