Tension grips Mangalore after Bajrang Dal activists stab one, assault five other Muslim students

Mangalore, Sep 18: In an incident of apparent hate crime, a group of miscreants allegedly belonging to Bajrang Dal, pounced on a few Muslim students at a bus stop in the city and brutally assaulted them.

The incident took place at Pumpwell Bus Stop, near Thaqwa Masjid on Thursday afternoon when a group of students from Mangalore Institute of Fire Safety Engineering (MIFSE) were waiting for bus. The assailants stabbed one of the students and brutally assaulted five others.

The condition of Kalandar Shahid, who was stabbed by the miscreants is said to be critical. Five other students identified as Shameem, Aashiq, Shahbaz, Mohammed Shahid and Asfatulla also have been hospitalized with multiple injuries.

Sources said that the two dozens of assailants who came in a Toofan Trax before fleeing the scene in the same vehicle.

A tense atmosphere has prevailed in the college and Pumpwell area following Thursday's attack.

Even though the attack appears to be part of a dispute between two groups of students in the college, it is learnt that the communal forces beyond the campus also had actively involved in the crime to trigger tension in the region.

It is learnt that the college had witnessed a small clash between two groups of students approximately a week ago. The college principal had intervened to settle the issue that erupted during a photo session at the end of a programme.

Following the compromise in the presence of principal, one group of students, which had connections with the local leaders of a communal outfit, had threatened the other group of œa worse revenge .

The victims have reportedly identified few of the assailants including Pradeep Pumpwell, and Pramod and Punith who are said to be Bajrang Dal activists.

Jurisdictional Mangalore Rural Police are investigating the matter after registering a case