Poona college halts probe into attack

PUNE: The four-member inquiry committee appointed by the Poona College to identify those who had attacked students from the northeast on the college campus on August 8 and 9 has stopped investigating into the matter citing practical difficulties.
A member of the committee claimed that the attackers were not college students and were outsiders. He added that the students of the college were only "observing the attacks" when they happened.
Even as the committee decided to stop the probe, a couple of students from the northeast, who went to the college on Tuesday, complained that they were verbally abused by some students, who harassed them and called them derogatory names.
The inquiry committee had college principal G M Nazeruddin, vice principal (senior college) Shakeel Ahmed and vice principal (junior college) Abdul Aziz Shaikh as its members, among others. "When the attacks happened, there were about 1,200 students on the campus. So it is difficult to find out who the attackers were. The police are further investigating into the matter," said Nazeruddin.
He added that as per the committee's conclusion, the actual attackers were outsiders and were not Poona College students. "One victim had claimed that the attackers were in college uniform, but that is not true. The college students were mere observers, while outsiders attacked the students from the northeast," he said.
Nazeruddin has asked all students from the northeast to resume classes since the police are providing protection on campus as well as outside the college. "The police are continuously patrolling the campus and have made a temporary chowky nearby," he said.
Meanwhile, a couple of students, who went to the college on Tuesday, said they were verbally abused on the campus. "I passed a group of eight to nine boys who abused me in Hindi and called me names like 'Nepali' and 'Chinki'. I had never experienced such a thing in the past. The verbal abuses seem to follow the physical attacks," said a student from the northeast who studies in the college.
His friend, who was with him, said, "They called us names. They also verbally abused us. We did not retaliate and left from there. The situation does not seem like it is improving," he added.