20 students hurt in Gujarat campus violence

A scuffle between two groups of Indian and foreign students on a private university campus near Vadodara left at least 20 youths injured, including nine from abroad, the state police said on Sunday.

The injured -- at least one of them seriously -- were admitted to a hospital on the Parul University campus in the Waghodia suburb of Vadodara.

Those injured on Sunday night included six from Afghanistan, two from Uganda and one from Congo, and the remaining 11 from India.

The police detained 18 students, including eight foreigners, and filed two cross first information reports in the matter.

A posse of police maintained a vigil on Monday amid an uneasy calm on the campus.

"The scuffle occurred when a group of Indian students was passing by the international hostel. An altercation ensued over a trivial issue, after which both sides summoned their supporters and clashed," Waghodia police station Sub-Inspector Aniruddhsinh Kamadiya said.

"We requisitioned additional force to control the situation," he added. The exact cause of the row is yet not clear.

University authorities shut down the hostel.

"It is a very serious matter. We will take firm action. We are yet to identify some miscreants... they will be put behind bars, irrespective of their nationalities," the police official said.

Kamadiya said they will inform the respective embassies about the incident.

He said two cases were registered. "Since one of the Indian students was seriously injured, an FIR in this case was registered for attempt to murder and rioting, while the cross-FIR filed on behalf of foreign students mainly related to rioting," he said.

--IANS

desai/tsb/vt