Jammu, May 15: Five students were injured after arguments over the screening of a controversial movie in a WhatsApp group triggered clashes two student groups at the boys’ hostel in Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H) Jammu last night, officials said.
Principal GMC&H, Dr Shashi Sudan told media that five students were injured in the clashes, with four of them sustaining minor injuries.
“Four injured medical students have been discharged [from the hospital], and the fifth has received stitches. He is likely to be discharged soon as his health has improved,” she said.
A hospital official identified the injured as Dr. Haseeb (23), son of Sajjad Hussain, resident of Bhaderwah; Arunesh (23), son of Rajinder Singh, resident of Udhampur; Akshit (21), son of Kuldev Parsad, resident of Billawar in Kathua; Aniket (22), son of Surinder Kumar, resident of Udhampur; and Umar Farooq (22), son of Farooq Hussain, resident of Budgam, Kashmir.
“Haseeb has sustained head injuries, but he is stable and improving,” he added.
Giving details of the incident, Dr Sudan said that an outsider who was a former medical student allegedly provoked the students. “We have filed a complaint with the police against the outsider (ex-medical student),” she said.
Dr Sudan said that they promptly went to the hostel to monitor the situation. The injured students were immediately shifted to the emergency room for treatment, she said.
Additionally, the institutional disciplinary committee has taken action against the medical students involved in the clashes. They will not be allowed to attend classes and use hostel rooms for a certain period of time (two weeks) to reflect on their behavior and restore peace in the hostel and college, she said.
Meanwhile, both male and female medical students continued their protest in the hospital premises, alleging that they were being coerced into “compromising” on the issue.
“These incidents keep happening in the hostels. We demand action against those who attacked Haseeb and others with a bottle in the hostel premises for opposing the sharing of a controversial movie in the WhatsApp group, which was intended only for sharing study-related material,” said a protester.
The police have filed a case under sections 147 and 323 of the IPC against two final-year students, an intern-student, and seven to eight unidentified students of the boys’ hostel for “instigating others” to create a disturbance in the hostel.
Another FIR was lodged over the clashes against three others, including an outsider (a radiologist who works at GMC Kathua), and their accomplices.