A pharmacy student hailing from Jammu and Kashmir was on Sunday allegedly attacked by a group of people in Nagpur’s Kamptee area, The Hindu reported on Tuesday quoting police officials.

The incident occurred when two first-year students – Mohammad Waseem from Doda and Piyush Lanjeh from Jammu – were returning to their hostel and were approached by some residents. Waseem was questioned about his background by them and when he could not respond clearly, the situation escalated into an assault, which ended only when Lanjeh clarified that they were college students, the newspaper quoted the police as saying.

The student who was attacked described the attackers as “anti-social elements” and denied any communal motive behind the incident. However, he acknowledged that the assault began only after he disclosed that he was from Jammu and Kashmir, The Hindu reported.

Kamptee police station Mahesh Andhale told The Times of India that the students had gone to the Kampee market to buy books. On the way back, they took a shortcut through a small settlement, and one of them stopped to urinate, which led to an altercation between them and some locals, the official said.

Waseem told the newspaper: “We were not aware the area from where we passed was notorious for criminal activity. They held us by shirt’s collar and attempt to loot us. We somehow managed to flee though they beat us.”

The student added that the attackers appeared to have been inebriated.

Waseem said the students told a relative about the incident, who spoke about it to J&K Students Association National Convenor Nasir Khuehami.

In a post on X, Khuehami said that the student was “brutally thrashed without any rhyme and reason by fringe elements”, and that he was hit on the face, neck, back, and arms. “Such a reign of terror against Kashmiri students must stop immediately,” he said.

Khuehami urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to personally intervene and ensure exemplary action against the culprits.

In a subsequent post on X, Khuehami said Inspector General of Police (Law & Order) Manoj Kumar Sharma reached out to him for details of the student and assured him that prompt action would be taken.

However, the police have said that no formal complaint has been filed so far. “The victim refused to file a first information report or take us to the spot,” Mahesh Andhale, the Kamptee police station incharge, told The Times of India.