Several students were injured here on Wednesday when police allegedly thrashed a group of students travelling in a bus near Kheer Bhavani.
According to reports a group of students traveling on the roof of the passenger bus from Sapapora to Ganderbal were asked by police personnel to come down.
“As the police stopped the bus, we only told them that the law should be for everyone and not only for students. On this, we were ruthlessly beaten and even our clothes were torn by police without any other provocation,” a student said.
Some of the injured students were identified as Zahida, Waseem and Insha of Degree College Ganderbal.
Disturbing videos of unconscious girls being carried to safer places triggered resentment in the town and hundreds of students from Degree College Ganderbal came out on roads to protest against the police.
Chanting anti-police slogans and alleging high-handedness by the cops, the protesters blocked Safapora-Ganderbal road.
As police used force on the protesters, resorting to lathi-charge and tear gas shelling, the students retaliated by hurling stones. Several more students were injured in the clashes.
DC Ganderbal Tariq Hussain Mir reached the spot and apologized to the students over the incident. He assured that a committee headed by ADC Ganderbal would be set up and anybody found guilty will be penalized.
SSP Ganderbal Imtiyaz Parrey said the police showed “maximum restraint” and several cops were also injured in the clashes.
