The Ahmedabad police have arrested three more individuals in connection with the alleged assault on foreign students at Gujarat University on Monday. The incident occurred on Saturday night when the students were offering namaz in the hostel premises.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Kshitij Kamlesh Pandey, 22, a resident of Ambika Apartment in Naranpura; Jitendra Ghanshyam Patel, 31, from Municipal Karmacharinagar in Ghatlodia and Sahil Arunbhai Dudhtiuva, 21, who resides in Memnagar. According to a press release, Pandey, who is from Gandhidham, works and lives in a paying guest accommodation in Ahmedabad while Jitendra Patel is an AC repairman from Kalol in Gandhinagar.
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With Monday’s arrests, the total number of accused in the case has risen to five. Hitesh Rakhubhai Mewada and Bharat Damodarbhai Patel were arrested on Sunday.
The incident involved a mob of 20-25 individuals who allegedly barged into the international boys’ hostel and assaulted five foreign students of Gujarat University while they were offering namaz during Ramzan. These students, who are part of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) programme, include undergraduates, postgraduates, and research scholars. Two of them are from African countries and one each from Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Following the attack, two students from Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan had to be hospitalised.
The accused have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including unlawful assembly, rioting with deadly weapons, voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons, causing hurt by rash or negligent act and criminal trespass.
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