Kyrgyzstan violence: Gujarat govt urges Centre to ensure safe return of students from state

Ahmedabad, May 23 (PTI) The Gujarat government has contacted the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to obtain details of the arrangements being made to bring students hailing from the state back home safely in view of the violence in Kyrgyzstan, officials said on Thursday.

As many as 17,000 students from India, including Gujarat, are in Kyrgyzstan at present for medical and other higher studies, the government said in a release.

Last week, India asked its students in Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek to stay indoors, days after mobs targeted foreigners in the city, triggering concerns over Indian students there.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday asked state Chief Secretary Raj Kumar to coordinate with the MEA to ensure safety of students, the release said, adding that parents of nearly 100 students from Surat district had recently urged the CM to take necessary steps to ensure safe return of their children.

Later, Chief Secretary Raj Kumar contacted the Ministry of External Affairs and obtained details of the arrangements being made to bring these students back home safely.

The state government has learnt that the Indian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan has been in constant touch with the universities and senior government officials there and has asked them to make appropriate arrangements for the safety of Indian students, it said.

Moreover, two helpline numbers have also been made operational 24x7 for Indian students staying in Kyrgyzstan to contact the embassy and give their details. The families of these students have been requested not to believe the rumours being spread about the attacks, it added.

In a video message, a student named Riya Lathia, a second-year medical student of Kyrgyz State Medical Academy (KSMA) in Bishkek, has appealed to the authorities to evacuate all the Indian students as soon as possible.

Riya's mother Sharmishtha Lathiya, a resident of Surat, also urged the government to bring Riya and other students back home.

"I learnt from my daughter that anti-social elements are killing people after entering homes by posing as teachers or police officers. My daughter lives with two other girls there. She told me that shots were also fired at her flat's window. I appeal to the state as well as the central government to evacuate Indian students and bring them home," she told reporters.

(Inputs from PTI)