Supreme Court to hear tomorrow plea seeking protection for Kashmiri students facing threats across India

Representational image. PTI[/caption]Kashmiri students across India have been facing threats to their safety in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, in which 42 CRPF personnel were killed. Fringe elements have targeted Kashmiris, especially students, in several states up north.The petitioner in the case is practicing lawyer Tariq Adeeb, Bar and Bench reported. It prays for directions to be issued to heads of institutes to take steps to protect Kashmiris, as well as prosecution of persons indulging in hate speech.The plea has also sought the appointment of a senior officer as a nodal officer in every state and Union Territory and sensitise districts to prevent acts of violence and vigilantism and ensure prosecution of offenders.On Monday, students from Kashmir at Maharishi Markandeshwar University in Ambala were forced to leave their rented accommodations after protests by villagers.On Saturday, four paramedical students of NIMS University in Jaipur were suspended for posting an "anti-national" WhatsApp status allegedly supporting the attack.Kashmiri students across Dehradun were also targeted after a medical student studying there allegedly shared an objectionable comment on a WhatsApp group on the attack.Chaos ensued in Dehradun after the incident, with reports of 20 Kashmiri students allegedly locking themselves in their hostel out of fear of the angry mob outside. The Uttarakhand Police had issued an alert on Sunday urging citizens to not believe the "rumours". The next day, the Dehradun Police registered an FIR against former JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) leader Shehla Rashid in connection with the incident.Meanwhile, in Jammu, mobs set ablaze dozens of vehicles belonging to Kashmiri drivers ferrying tourists and local residents across the Pir Panjal. The violence forced authorities to impose a curfew and increase police patrol around areas inhabited by Kashmiri Muslims.In other places, landlords threatened Kashmiris tenants, who are mostly students, with eviction.With inputs from agencies