Around 50 Nigerian students allegedly left GD Goenka University in Gurgaon campus “temporarily” after some of them were allegedly beaten and threatened by Indian students while playing football.
Tensions flared two days after a fight broke out between Indian and Nigerian students. Although GD Goenka University campus remained calm on Sunday, with an internal inquiry ordered into the matter and a visit made by Nigerian government officials.
The police say six students were injured in the clash that broke out Friday during a Football match on the campus. The university administration has denied that any exodus took place.
A team from the Nigerian Embassy went to the university on Saturday night and interacted with the Indian students who had allegedly clashed with the Nigerian students.
A video of the fight, purported to be of the same incident, circulated on social media on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the university administration has suspended eight students and ordered a full internal inquiry.
Local students claimed the Nigerian students assaulted them, while the Nigerian students alleged that a large group of local people on Friday entered the campus and thrashed them with sticks.
After the fight on Friday, Sultan Khan, a pharmacy student, had filed a police complaint alleging that some Nigerian students ganged up against Indian students and beat them up.
“It was around 5.40 pm on Friday, I was walking on campus when 4-5 Nigerian undergrads including Khalil, Abbas, Emmanuel and others came and abused and thrashed me.
“When my friends Adhiraj, Aditya, Guunoor came to save me they were also thrashed with rods and sticks by the Nigerian students. They also threatened to kill me and my friends before leaving,” read the FIR lodged by Sultan Khan.
ASI Rampal, the Investigating Officer in the case, said a case under sections 323 (causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC has been filed on the basis of the complaint at Sohna City Police Station.
A Nigerian student, Rabiu Md followed up by filing a complaint to the police late Saturday evening accusing Indian students of attacking him and other foreign students. It was after this, Nigerian embassy officials intervened.
“Local people came to the university hostel with different weapons and started attacking the international students …,” his FIR read.
“Some of us ran out of the college while some remained trapped inside the hostel. They cannot go out because they are afraid of their life. Many international students were injured yesterday by the same local Indians in the football field,” Rabiu Md said.
Authorities in the university say the matter is being blown out of proportion, even as it admitted that a clash did happen on the football pitch.