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“While Feroz has been shot on the right side of his chest, Saadiq and Abdullah have been injured by bullet shrapnel on their bodies,” alleged Mohammed Babar, who claimed he was at the spot when a firing incident took place at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, 3 October.
The three – Saadiq Hasan, Feroz, and Abdullah – were at AMU’s Sir Syed Hall (North) when a scuffle allegedly broke out between two groups of students, and many rounds of ammunition were fired.
Circle Officer (CO) Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal said that the injured are being treated in AMU’s Emergency Unit, and that their condition is stable.
The police earlier claimed that the three were students of AMU.
However, AMU Proctor Prof Wasim Ali told reporters that neither the injured nor those who fired ammunition were students of the university.
“As per the information received by us till now, none of those who are injured are students on the university’s roll. Those who fired the shots were outsiders,” he said.
What Happened?
"The four of us were at AMU’s Viqarul Mulk (VM) Hall to celebrate a junior’s birthday and had left by the time the scuffle broke out among students of Sir Syed (North) Hall and VM Hall. One of the boys -- Kashif -- went out and brought back men wielding pistols and guns. Following the argument, the men started firing," Babar alleged to The Quint.
"One of the juniors from VM Hall called us back at the university’s SS Hall to diffuse the situation. But when we went there, the men starting firing again," he added.
A former student of AMU, Babar claimed that Saadiq Hasan, Feroz and Abdullah are not students of the university, but were present on the campus to attend the birthday party.
Meanwhile, the AMU Proctor alleged that 10-15 outsiders wielding locally-made guns and weapons came to the university’s VM Hall on bikes on Monday night.
“At around 10:30 last night, we got information that many outsiders entered VM Hall and started firing. We immediately informed the Civil Lines police station and reached the spot. We learnt that the miscreants who had fired rounds of ammunition have escaped from the scene. Thankfully, there have been no serious injuries.”AMU Procter Prof Wasim Ali
Babar, however, claimed that three of his friends were injured by gun shots and shrapnel during the firing.
He added that while Feroz used to be a staffer at AMU, Abdullah has neither worked nor studied at the university. Meanwhile, Saadiq Hasan is a practicing doctor in Moradabad and had completed his MBBS degree from ACN College in Aligarh. He was in the city for filling forms for a post graduate degree from AMU.
Safety, Security, Legal Action?
Babar told The Quint that the alleged outsiders opened fire twice at the campus premises on the intervening night of 2-3 October.
"The first firing happened around 11:00 pm on 2 October at VM Hostel and the second firing happened at around 12:30 am on 3 October at Sir Syed Hall (North)," Babar alleged.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed at the Civil Lines police station under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (being armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (punishment for unlawful assembly) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The FIR, a copy of which has been accessed by The Quint, names 15 accused, of which 11 are residents of Aligarh and the rest belong to Kasganj, Sambhal, and Budaun in Uttar Pradesh. As per the FIR, all 15 are males and in the age group of 30 to 40 years.
The complainant Babar has alleged in the FIR that the accused had a grudge against the three in the past.
When asked by reporters how could outsiders carrying weapons enter the campus premises, the Proctor said that there are only gatekeepers and no security guards at the campus.
He alleged that the miscreants brandished their weapons and intimidated the gatekeepers to enter the campus. Babar too said that there was "only one guard" at the gate that night – and that he is "quite old."
The Procter added that the police are investigating the CCTV footage, and the probe is underway.
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