No action against vandals two days after attack on Bangladeshi students’ stall at pvt varsity cultural fest

Pune: Two days after a food stall set up by Bangladeshi students at a ‘World Cultural Festival' at the MIT World Peace University's (MIT-WPU) Kothrud campus was vandalised and the Bangladeshi national flag was burnt allegedly by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), there has been no action against those involved in the act of vandalism.On Thursday, MIT-WPU officials and police passed the buck over the registration of a case. BJYM's city unit president Dushyant Mohol insisted, "We are not opposed to the Bangladeshi students, who are here to study, but considering the attacks on Hindus in their country, we won't allow students from Bangladesh to put up their flag or propagate their culture. We leave it to the law to decide if the vandalism was right or wrong."
Senior inspector Sandeep Deshmane of the Kothrud police told TOI, "The MIT-WPU officials on Wednesday evening informed us through a letter that some youngsters from an organisation damaged the Bangladeshi food stall after the event concluded. No one was injured. We are awaiting a detailed statement from the college authorities, after which a FIR can be registered."MIT-WPU registrar Ganesh B Pokale said, "We gave a complaint (application) to the Kothrud police on Wednesday. There is no refusal from our side to lodge a complaint. We are extending all support to the police to proceed further."Deputy commissioner of police (Zone-III) Sambhaji Kadam dismissed suggestions that the police were under any pressure. "We just got a letter stating such an incident happened on the campus. Thereafter, nobody came to file a complaint from MIT's side. Can they give it in writing that we refused? We are more than ready to file an FIR. Our police station staff even called MIT officials asking them to give a detailed statement, but nobody came," Kadam said.Pokale, however, insisted that the police asked them for nothing after receiving the letter. "The letter was intended for registration of an FIR. The police have not called us. Along with our letter, we also gave them details of the incident, and a pen drive with CCTV footage and pictures we could gather of the incident."The attack has drawn condemnation from private universities, which host a large number of foreign students. They said the act could damage Pune's reputation as an education hub, particularly among foreign students, who choose Pune for its perceived safety, climate and culture. "Pune has been hosting foreign students for a long and it is sad that such an event happened. All kinds of vandalism are bad. This is happening because there is no fear of law," Pramod Rawat, chairman of the Deccan Education Society, said."Pune has long been known as the ‘Oxford of the East' and its educational culture should not be tarnished by one such incident. Events like these can have international repercussions, word of mouth may discourage Bangladeshi students who were considering admissions in Indian institutions. We must be mindful of how we treat international students," Vidya Yeravdekar, pro-chancellor of Symbiosis International, said.