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Student injured in clashes at AMU over India-Pakistan World T20 match
A student was injured in clashes between two groups at Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh Muslim University during Saturday’s T20 cricket match between arch rivals India and Pakistan.
A student was injured in clashes between two groups at Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh Muslim University during Saturday’s T20 cricket match between arch rivals India and Pakistan.
Police were deployed in large numbers after shots were reportedly fired while students at the public-funded institute were watching on television the marquee contest that India won.
The incident came on a day two female students allegedly chanted anti-India slogans at a private IT college in the state’s Ghaziabad city during the match. Authorities have served a notice to the institute.
The two countries are intense rivals on the cricket field with the competition heightened by a dose of hostile geopolitics and passions of 1.4 billion people.
AMU proctor Prof M Mohsin Khan said the student, who is in hospital, was injured in celebratory firing.
Police confirmed there was a fight, but said it was difficult to ascertain who attacked whom in the absence of a written complaint.
Authorities have banned celebratory gunfire to mark weddings and other events but the practice is still common in India’s heartland.
According to reports, some local students celebrating India’s victory clashed with a few Kashmiri students, during which Kalim Ahmad, who is pursuing an MTech degree, was hit by a bullet. His condition is serious, said sources.
The proctor, however, said he had no information about a confrontation involving Kashmiri students.
Though another dispute took place at the university over the match, senior students intervened and tamped down the situation.
“The injured student has been referred to Delhi because of his serious condition,” said superintendent of police Anshul Gupta. “The reason behind the confrontation will be clearer when we receive a written complaint.”
