There has been no report of attacks by local people in Kyrgyz Republic against Indian students over the past three days, official sources informed The Hindu on May 19. The clarification came a day after videos were circulated online that depicted purported attacks by local people in capital Bishkek against Pakistani students.
“There are no reports of any Indian being affected in the incidents that were circulated by unverified videos on Saturday. The Kyrgyz authorities have clarified and spoken strongly against circulation of these videos. There are 17,000 Indian students and businessmen in Kyrgyz Republic and they are located in various parts of the country,” said an official source, indicating that the situation has returned to normalcy in Bishkek.
Authorities in Bishkek had clarified that the videos were disseminated “deliberately” by “destructive forces” and that “all necessary measures have been taken to ensure security, maintain peace and stability”.
Srikakulam MP Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu urged Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar to ensure safety of the students who are enrolled in various medical institutes in Kyrgyzstan. In a press release, Mr. Naidu said that 250 out of 2,000 students from Andhra Pradesh belonged to Srikakulam parliamentary constituency.
In another press note, BJP Vizianagaram district president and Etcherla MLA candidate N. Eswara Rao urged the Minister to alert Indian embassy and ensure protection for the students as attacks were taking place in hostels of those medical colleges. He said that many students of Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts joined the medical colleges there as they could not get seats in government and private colleges in India. Mr. Jaishankar has urged Indian nationals in Kyrgyz Republic to maintain contact with the Indian embassy in Bishkek.
“Monitoring the welfare of Indian students in Bishkek. Situation is reportedly calm now. Strongly advise students to stay in regular touch with the embassy,” said Mr. Jaishankar in a social media message on X.
