- The university administration said the incident was a fallout of a fight over substitution of some players during a football match on Friday evening
Days after tensions flared between Indian and Nigerian students at GD Goenka University in Gurgaon, with police registering cross FIRs against each group of students for allegedly thrashing each other at the football ground, the university Monday said it had suspended 22 students for their alleged involvement in the brawl.
Registrar Dr Dhirendra Singh Parihar said: “A total of 22 students have been suspended with immediate effect pending an enquiry for misconduct. Suspended students — Indians and Nigerians — have been barred from entering campus till the enquiry is complete.
“A report of the same will be out Tuesday. We have also summoned parents of those identified in the brawl in CCTV footage and (those) students, whose role is established in indulging in violence or damaging property, their admission will be cancelled.”
The university administration said the incident was a fallout of a fight over substitution of some players during a football match on Friday evening.
“As part of preparation for a tournament, the students were playing a friendly match. The winning team was leading by at least three goals and towards the end of a match, an argument broke out between Nigerian students and Indian students of the winning team over substituting players. One side contended that the same team combination should continue, while players on the bench wanted to play.
The fight escalated and some students were beaten up… five-six students suffered injuries. The matter was then resolved after discussion with both groups. We had also informed Nigerian Embassy officials.
“On Saturday, again during the football match, an argument had ensued and some heated words were exchanged, but no one suffered injuries. There was nothing communal and there was no relation to the protests that took place last month,” said Parihar.
The administration said some Nigerian students had left the campus temporarily after the incident, but they later returned. “As of now, Nigerian students are staying in the hostel. Some local students have gone home for Diwali holidays. Classes are continuing online,” added Parihar.
DCP (South) Upasna said, “The situation is peaceful. No arrests have been made. Probe so far found that a brawl broke out between students at a football match. There is no communal angle.”
The captain of one of the football teams also said, “There was a dispute related to substitution. Some local students had not trained properly. There was opposition from players who were playing on the field. The players from the bench obstructed play and the situation escalated into a fight.”
Earlier in September, a group of Indian students of the university had staged a protest against foreign students over offering namaz at the ground.