Five students from Sudan were injured, one seriously, when two persons in an inebriated condition allegedly attacked them near a tea shop in Peelamedu on Thursday evening. The police said the assault could have taken place as a fallout of language barrier as the students were speaking in Arabic that could have been misunderstood by the attackers.
Hawvery (22), a first year B.Com (CA) student at a college in Peelamedu, sustained head injury and was admitted to a private hospital in the city. Four others, Amen Aderin, Abdullah, Mohammed Haseen and Ibrahim Ali, sustained minor injuries and were treated at a hospital.
The police said that all of them were studying in a private college in the city and were staying at a house in Avarampalayam. On Thursday, they were interacting in their native language outside a tea shop. They greeted a motorist in Arabic and the person might have thought that he was being abused.
Hence, the two men took an iron rod and allegedly assaulted the fstudents and fled the scene. Passers-by admitted them to hospital and informed the police. The police have registered a case under Sections 294 (b) (utter obscene words in public place), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code against the attackers.