Masked men assault Jammu & Kashmir student at LD Engineering hostel, allegations of ABVP member involved

A student from Jammu and Kashmir enrolled at Ahmedabad’s L D Engineering College was allegedly assaulted inside the campus hostel on Friday after a dispute that reportedly began over a WhatsApp message. The incident, which saw a group of around 30 to 40 masked individuals entering the hostel, has triggered serious concerns over campus security.

According to preliminary information, the attackers had tied handkerchiefs over their faces before barging into the hostel. The student targeted in the attack, Sandeep Rana, claimed that an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), identified only as Dev, was among those who entered his room.

Rana, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, told reporters that a quarrel had unfolded a day earlier in a WhatsApp group, during which he was allegedly threatened.

Rana added that on Thursday morning, the group of people had came searching for him, when he had stepped out of the hostel. Rana's roomate was questioned by the group and later they left.

On Friday evening, the same crowd of masked individuals again entered the premises and attacked his roommate while he was sleeping in his bed, mistaking him for Rana.

“About 30 to 40 people came with handkerchiefs tied over their faces. Since my roommate was sleeping with a cloth over his face, they assumed he was me and beat him up,” Rana said. The roommate, also from Jammu and Kashmir, sustained injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment.

He further alleged that Dev, a second-semester student and an ABVP member, was among the people who first entered his room and threatened him. “They came asking for me by name and said they would kill me,” Rana claimed.

A video of the altercation, purportedly from inside the college hostel, surfaced on social media, showing a group of youths assaulting a student.

Police from the Gujarat University Police Station reached the campus soon after the incident was reported.

Confirming the investigation, PI S R Bawa said, “We are in the process of recording the student’s complaint and statement. An inquiry is underway to identify the attackers and determine the motive behind the assault.”

Further investigation is ongoing.