MEA asks UGC to caution Indian students in Russia on security

Chennai, Mar 4 (UNI) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to advise students pursuing higher education in Russia to take adequate precautions for their personal security in view of attacks on Indian students.

A circular to this effect was sent to the Registrars of all Universities in the country by the UGC, urging them to create awareness among the students, who have been sent by the Universities to Russia and those who are planning to go, about the advisory from the MEA.

The circular was signed by UGC Under Secretary Ashok Mahajan and it was posted on the UGC website. The advisory to the students was posted in Indian Embassy website in Russia and was forwarded to the MEA, which in turn had passed it to UGC for necessary action.

The MEA advisory said there had been several incidents of violent attacks on Indian and other foreign students in different parts of Russia by extremist groups.

''One third of the attacks had taken place in St Petersburg alone,'' it said, quoting statistics provided by the Russian police.

''Moscow and Voronezh, a town about 500 km south of Moscow comes next with 25 per cent and 10 per cent respectively''.

Foreign students, especially dark complexioned and having dark hair were vulnerable to such assault, the advisory warns.

An Indian student Nitesh Kumar Singh, pursuing his medical course at the Mechnikov Medical Academy in St Petersburg, was stabbed to death by a masked gang in front of his hostel building on September 24 last year. Earlier, another Indian student from the same medical academy, Kishore Kumar Anjangi, was also attacked in April. But he survived the attack.

About 11 foreign students from Africa, Asia and Latin America have also come under attack from the extremists at St Petersburg and Voronezh last year, it said.

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