Thaindian News

Jalandhar, April 28 (IANS) Three African students who were arrested for brutally thrashing a fellow student from Mizoram to death at a brawl during a soccer match were Thursday suspended by the Lovely Professional University (LPU), an official said.

An uneasy calm prevailed on the LPU campus near here Thursday, after the university authorities ordered the institution to be closed for three days.

The varsity authorities have also shifted all African students, numbering over 45, from their hostels to an undisclosed location.

A dispute resulting from a goal scored in a friendly football match between students from Africa and Mizoram in the campus turned fatal Tuesday for Johnny F. Lalhmangaih.

Lalhmangaih, 22, was pursuing civil engineering from the LPU. He had scored the goal for his team, following which the African students got into a brawl and started bashing him.

After initially evading arrest, three African students were arrested Wednesday night.

Two students, Ahmed Al-Nagni and Sayed Feisal, are from Tanzania, while the third, Hatin Indriss, hails from Sudan.

According to the post-mortem report, Lalhmangaih died of internal injuries. His relative from Chandigarh had come to take his body. His father works as a sub-divisional officer in the public welfare department in Mizoram.

“In the wake of this incident, we have called off classes till Saturday. The African students are outside the campus,” a LPU spokesperson told IANS.

Police inspector Ravinder Singh told IANS that the three African students were presented in court Thursday and have been sent to a day’s police custody.

“We have stationed police force on the LPU campus as a precautionary measure,” Singh said.

Following the incident, scores of Indian students went on rampage Wednesday and damaged the hostel furniture and rooms. Heavy police force was called in to control the situation.

“We are taking all precautionary measures. We do not want our students to resort to violence and higher authorities of the university will make sure that strict action will be taken against the culprits,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier too, there was a clash between Indian and African students, but the matter was resolved amicably.

Currently, over 250 foreign students from 16 countries are studying at the university. Of them, around 50 are from African countries.

Punjab’s first private university, LPU is located on the Phagwara-Jalandhar National Highway, 140 km from Chandigarh, and has over 24,000 students on its rolls.