No Valley student beaten up on campus: GCET principal
Amir Karim Tantray
Tribune News Service
Chak Bhalwal, April 8
The Principal of Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET), Jammu, today put to rest rumours that Kashmiri students were beaten up by local students on the campus on Thursday.
There were rumours that Kashmiri students were beaten up by local students with the help of goons from outside after they refused to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.
Sources said a protest march was taken out by local students of the GCET in favour of the non-local students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar, on Thursday. During the protest, GCET students waved the Tricolour and raised “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” slogans.
“No such incident happened in the college and everything is normal here,” said Sameru Sharma, Principal, GCET, Jammu. “Students had taken out a rally with a Tricolour in support of the non-local NIT students but no untoward incident happened,” Sameru Sharma added.
The GCET remained closed today in view of the holiday.
“We were writing our exams on Thursday when the rally was taken out by local students of Jammu. They raised slogans outside our hostel but nobody entered the hostel premises or harassed any Kashmir student,” said a Kashmiri student wishing anonymity.
Around 750 students from various parts of the state are pursing engineering in the GCET at Chak Bhalwal village, around 24 km from Jammu city.
“After the NIT incident, we have been providing counselling to the students. On Thursday evening, when there were rumours of Kashmiri students being beaten up, I and my staff spent several hours on the college premises. We talked to students in the hostel and assured them of safety,” the college principal said.
“Today, we again had a long chat with the hostel students and everything is fine. We are trying to identify the rumour-mongers. Once identified, disciplinary action will be taken against them,” the GCET principal added.
