A cricket match The controversy kicked off with the alleged celebration of India’s loss in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup against West Indies. As it often happens, many Kashmiris celebrated India’s defeat against West Indies in T20 World Cup late on Thursday night. Non-local students were angry with locals cheering Andre Russell’s winning runs against India in Mumbai. A clash apparently broke out, and multiple reports indicated that non-Kashmiri students attacked Kashmiri students and a local courier-delivery boy.

Teargas and lathicharge Last week, the atmosphere at the institute was charged with hundreds of non-local students protesting against the Kashmiris chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, ‘Hindustan Zindabad’ and ‘Pakistan Murdabad’. The non-local students also burnt a replica of the Pakistani flag, eyewitnesses said. In retaliation, Kashmiri students responded by shouting ‘Hum Kya Chahte Azadi’. Police fired tear gas shells and used baton charge to disperse the groups and authorities decided to close down the institution until further notice.

Clashes The institution formally opened on March 4 but non-Kashmiri students had boycotted them. On Tuesday evening, a group of them went to the director’s office for a meeting. Trouble started when, after the meeting, the students took out a march, shouting slogans. Police stopped them at the main gate, and clashes erupted. The students group accused the police of entering classrooms and beating up students. Following the incident, the Central Reserve Police Force (CPRF) was deployed.