Gujarat University: Afghan delegation satisfied with safety measures after attack on foreign students

AHMEDABAD: A delegation led by Afghanistan's Consul General in Mumbai Zakia Wardak visited the Gujarat University here on Friday and held a meeting with its vice-chancellor over safety measures in the wake of an attack on foreign students last week. On the night of March 16, around two dozen people barged into the government-run university's hostel and assaulted students from foreign countries for offering namaz at one of the blocks during the ongoing month of Ramzan.

Two persons from Sri Lanka and Tajikistan were hospitalised after the incident, as per police. Vice-Chancellor Dr Neerja Gupta told reporters the delegation expressed satisfaction over the measures taken by university authorities for the safety of students after the incident.

"It was a courtesy meeting after the incident. We told them the university has taken several steps to protect the students. The delegation was satisfied with the measures taken by us," said Gupta. Before meeting the vice chancellor, Consul General Wardak met her country's students to take stock of the latest situation.

Steps taken by Gujarat University

Notably, international students have been shifted to a new hostel after the incident. "We met the Vice Chancellor as well as our students. They (students) told me everything is fine. There is nothing to worry about. My students have been studying here for the past five years and they live here like brothers and sisters to everybody. So we don't have any bigger concerns," Wardak told reporters.

The Indian government is very friendly and Afghan students have been coming here for the past 20-25 years for education and they have never had any issues. "All Indians are our brothers and sisters and we don't have to make this matter big and bring some political issue in it. We don't have any big complaints at all. I told my students everything is fine because the Indian government is also taking care of their safety. I told my students this is their second home," she added.

The attack prompted the university to relocate foreign students to a new wing and engage ex-servicemen to bolster security. Additionally, a foreign student advisory committee has been established, along with the deployment of ex-Army personnel to fortify the hostel premises' security.

Earlier on March 19, a delegation of the African nation Gambia had visited the Gujarat University campus here and held a meeting with Gupta over the same issue. So far five persons have been arrested in connection with the incident following registration of an FIR against a mob under Indian Penal Code (IPC) provisions for rioting, unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt, damage to property, and criminal trespass, among others.