Srinagar Oct 12: The Aligarh Muslim University on Thursday suspended three Kashmiri students, who tried to offer prayers in absentia to Scholar rebel Mannan Wani, in an encounter in Handwara area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
Confirming the move, proctor of the university Mohsin Khan quoted by The Times of India as saying, “The three Kashmiri students were suspended as they violated the university’s discipline and rules and indulged in the unlawful assembly. Four other students who supported the namaz will be issued a show cause notice. The students and their academic details are being identified. Anti-national activities will not be tolerated in the university campus.”
According to a report published by The Times of India said that Around 15 Kashmiri students gathered at Kennedy Hall for offering prayers in absentia to Mannan Wani. Wani was pursuing a doctorate in geology at AMU when he joined the militant outfit earlier this year.
The report said the former president of AMU Students’ Union Faizul Hassan also arrived at the spot and requested the students not to perform the prayers in absentia to Mannan. “I opposed their decision. I told them if they want to do this, they should go to Kashmir as such activities defame the university. I have never supported terrorists and never will,” The Times Of India quoted Hassan as saying.
“The university had already expelled Wani, so none of the students have had any contact with him. Wani chose that path and was punished for it, “Hassan added.
The report said that while condemning Wani’s decision to join the rank of Hizbul Mujahideen, AMUSU president Maskoor Ahmad Usmani said, “The government should, however, discover the reasons why such a bright research scholar quit studies and joined the militant outfit. Maybe he thought that this was the only way to convey his message? The government should take this matter seriously so that no other youth or student thinks of taking such a step. If he was a militant, we have no sympathies for him.”
