Kashmiri students under scanner in Kolkata? IB seeks info from colleges

Kolkata: In the wake of recent anti-national sloganeering and violence in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Intelligence Bureau has sought details of Jammu and Kashmir students in Kolkata universities from the police, according to a report in The Indian Express.

The police, who had been asked to collect details, wrote to college authorities to provide the list of students from Jammu and Kashmir.

Colleges across Kolkata received a note from the police stating, “Please let me know that students, whose residential addresses is under the State of Jammu & Kashmir, studies in your Institution for onwards transmission to the Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block, New Delhi, Govt. of India.”

Soon after the JNU fracas, Jadavpur University students had also held an event where students sympathised with the hanging of Afzal Guru and also called for ‘freedom of Kashmir’.

A top police officer was quoted saying, “It’s an attempt to create dossiers on J&K students so that we can monitor their activities. This is really something new that we are doing for the first time.”

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reached out to Mamata Banerjee on Twitter to look into the matter.

“Dear @MamataOfficial can you please look in to this police order? Info gathering shouldn’t become harassment,” Abdullah tweeted following the police action that many said unfairly targeted Kashmiri students.

“Why are these students being singled out? cc @quizderek Police ask Kolkata colleges to give details of J&K students.”