by Babra Wani

SRINAGAR: Controversial masala film The Kerala Story which has been making headlines since its release, led to a serious feud in Government Medical College Jammu where five students were injured in a scuffle. Though the police have registered a case and the college has rusticated 10 students for two months, students who were injured in the incident are still claiming they are getting threatening calls.

The incident triggered a protest by the students and the political class condemned the happening.

The incident took place on the intervening night of May 14 and 15 May and an inquiry was put into action by GMC’s Disciplinary Committee. The committee also barred the rusticated students from attending the classes till the inquiry is completed.

In an official order, Dr Sashi Sudhan Sharma, Principal and Dean, GMC Jammu has also asked the committee to conduct “a detailed inquiry into the incident and submit a report within seven days for further necessary action.”

The order has also identified the rusticated students as Aniket, Arunesh, Waseem, Mubarak, Tauquir, Sarmad, Haseeb all students of final year, Akshit student of second year and Umer and Deepak Chandel students of first year.

As per media reports an FIR was lodged against the people involved in the incident and further investigations are underway.

The college management and authorities have also told media houses that strict actions will be taken against the people who are found guilty in the incident.

“The incident has left us horrified. A section of students called us outsiders who perhaps were members of right-wing parties, and started attacking Kashmiri students,” a final year student who witnessed the scuffle said. “It is when the Kashmiri students started raising slogans outside the building. The outsiders also started chanting Jai Shri Ram.”

The student alleged that the “attackers” are putting all the blame on the section that was attacked.

Another student said that the clash was triggered when a student of first year shared a link on WhatsApp group with teh caption, “The Kerala Story is a must watch.” In response to it, a Kashmiri student replied, “Don’t share such stuff in the class group,” and that is how the whole episode began.

In the incident one student suffered serious injuries after he was attacked by an iron rod. The attack resulted in 12 stitches to his head. The student has been identified as Haseeb from Badherwah. The student is in a stable condition and is undergoing medical treatment.

Following the incident many political leaders from Kashmir condemned the incident and took to their social media handles demanding firm punishments for the culprits.

Nasir Khuehami who is the national convenor of Jammu and Kashmir Students Association on Tuesday in his tweets wrote that two FIRs have been lodged following the incident at Bakshi Nagar police station in Jammu. One FIR has been lodged against the students involved while the second FIR has been lodged against a former student.

It is pertinent to mention that Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) held a special screening of the movie in Jammu on Tuesday. The special screening was for girls. A VHP leader told reporters that the movie was screened for “awareness among the girls.”

The Kerala Story was released on May 5, and has been in headlines since. The movie faced protests from various political parties in various states and was banned by the Government of West Bengal. The movie also garnered poor reviews from various movie critics. However, it is making the best of the money.

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