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7 MAM College students held for rumour-mongering

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 2/25/2017 1:15:46 PM

JAMMU, Feb 24: Police claimed to have arrested seven students of a particular community from the hostel of Maulana Azad Memorial (MAM) College in the wee hours of this morning raids in Jammu.
It was learnt that students of particular faction patronized by some ruling party ministers spread rumours that students of particular community had beaten up a student of another community in the hostel leading to his death. “This news spread like wild fire with students of particular faction mobilizing their university and college units of Jammu city and entering the campus at around 9.00 PM late on the Thursday night. They raised slogans and demanded lodging of an FIR against the students of particular community who hailed from twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch,” sources said.
They added, “The sloganeering led to students of Rajouri and Poonch residing in the campus making calls to their relatives and friends, narrating the sense of insecurity that had gripped them. The protest ended after police assured the leaders of particular faction of students that an FIR has been lodged and action would be taken within shortest possible time. They left and later in the night, police swooped on the campus and picked up seven students at around 2.30 AM in the wee hours.”
Police sources said that the seven boys who have been picked up and lodged in Gandhi Nagar Police Station included Mohammed Israr, Rabnawaz, Fazal, Murtaza, Zulfiqar, Sheraz and Mumtaz, all residents of Rajouri and Poonch. They have been arrested after police lodged an FIR against them under sections 451, 323 and 147 RPC.
Sources, however, said that FIR was lodged at the behest of some ruling party ministers, who had come in support of student faction, the party’s student wing.
Reports said the students of particular community residing in the hostels of the MAM College have packed their bags and have threatened to return to their native places if the administration and the police failed to restore sense of security in the campus. They alleged that a faction of students have let loose “reign of terror” in the campus with both Warden and Principal acting as mute spectators.
“Their allegation is that a minor scuffle between them and a group of students is being exploited by faction of students and its affiliate student organizations to create a sense of fear among other students residing in the hostels of MAM College,” reports added.
According to them, a minor issue over wording a song resulted in minor exchange of words between two groups of students on February 21 when they were returning from Sanasar in Samba district where they had gone on a picnic. The issue took an ugly turn when some students affiliated to a particular faction beat up the students of Rajouri and Poonch who had objected to the wording of the song in the college campus, a day later.
They added that this led to students of Rajouri and Poonch who are in majority in the hostels of the campus lodging strong protest with both Principal Dr Ramesh Chander and Warden. The two intervened and got the issue between the two factions resolved.
However, later in the evening, there was again an altercation between the two groups of students. The student faction who outnumbered the Rajouri-Poonch students roughed them up. This resulted in injuries to Govardhan Singh Jamwal while his fellow hostelier ran away,” said Saqib, who is a student of the MAM College. Reports added that Jamwal who had minor injury on the left side of his face was hospitalized.
In the meantime, friends of Govardhan shared messages on WhatsApp and Facebook about his death, which turned out to be a blatant lie. The news was spread all over to create an atmosphere where the locals would join the students in attacking students of Rajouri and Poonch living in the hostel.
The students of Rajouri and Poonch are demanding that the FIR be withdrawn and the students who have been picked up in a one sided action be freed. “We won’t go back to the Hostels if our friends are not set free. Police should not take sides which it is doing right now,” said another student.