A group of students clashed with Kashmiri students on the premises of Lala Lajpat Rai College of Engineering and Management in Moga district on Sunday evening during the T20 game between Pakistan and England.
A student wihsing to remain anonymous told The Kashmiriyat that a few non-local students argued with Kashmiris and accused them of being anti-nationals and supporting Pakistan during the match. “When Pakistan started bowling well and took the first two wickets, the non-Panjabi students started hurling abuses on us and our religion,” he said.
After the verbal brawl, the non-Punjabi students started clashing with the Kashmiri students during which several students sustained injuries. “Within no time they started pelting stones on us and we too responded by throwing stones,” he said. The injured students were taken to the hospital, where they were given first-aid treatment. “one student has suffered a serious injury,” he said.
“There was no issue for us until they started abusing our religion,” another student said.
He said that the students who beat them were from Bihar and UP and not local Punjabis. “In fact after the incident, the local Sikh students came and expressed their support for us,” he said.
Another team of Punjabis visited the Kashmiri students to express their solidarity with the injured.
More than 600 Kashmiri students are studying in the college, most of them live in the hostel.