Muzaffarnagar: Four students of Darul Uloom seminary were allegedly beaten up in a train near Khatoli town here today, triggering tension in the area as residents blocked Delhi-Dehradun national highway.
Mohammed Kaiser from Patna, Saifullah (Delhi), Mohammed Sajid (Deoria) and Badruddin (Assam), who were on way to the national capital from Deoband, were beaten up by some persons in a Ambala-Delhi passenger train between Mansoorpur and Khatoli railway stations, police said.
The GRP arrested three accused and handed them over to local police at Khatoli railway station while the injured students were taken to hospital.
Meanwhile, hundreds of locals gathered at the Khatoli railway station and demanded stern action against the accused.
The protesters followed the accused to Khatoli police station and held a protest there. The irate locals blocked traffic movement on the nearby Delhi-Dehradun national highway.
Following the incident, tension gripped Muzaffarnagar and Khatoli town area as shops downed their shutters, sources said.
Expressing concern over the attack on students, Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Abul Kasim said that earlier too students of the seminary had been attacked in the trains.
The issue has been raised with the state government and railway authorities and security for the students had been sought, Kasim told PTI.
Two days back, a similar incident was reported and despite the request of Darul Uloom to railway authorities and senior police officers for protection of students in trains no action has been taken in this regard, he said.
