Afghan students, who returned from Delhi, at the Bhubaneswar railway station on Tuesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 25: The 59 Afghan students, who had left the Ravenshaw University in Cuttack following a campus brawl, returned to the state capital this afternoon from Delhi by Rajdhani Express.

The students were escorted out of the railway station amidst tight security and taken to Patia where the government has made arrangements for their stay. While some students refused to speak, others expressed happiness.

“After we left for Delhi, our friends in Cuttack told us that the entire state was appealing to us to come back. The love of the people of Orissa has brought us back,” said Zabihullah, an Afghan student enrolled in a BBA course at the university.

“We have returned for our studies and friends. The state government has assured us full security for which we decided to bury the past. We hope such incidents do not take place in future,” said Zabi Ghiasi, a student of journalism and mass communication.

Some of their friends, who had come to receive them at the station, were visibly overjoyed. “I thought they would never return. We have been waiting here since morning to meet them. They have gone through really bad times, but I am happy to have them back,” said Sonali, a second-year physics student, even as she went around hugging her friends.

“We missed them terribly. They used to call us up and give minute-to-minute update about the meetings that took place in Delhi. I just cannot believe they have returned. We want to tell them that Cuttack has changed after that incident,” said another friend, who did not wish to be named.

On January 13, a group of local students had locked the university’s main gate protesting against alleged irregularities in their hostel. Some Afghan students, who wanted to leave the campus, asked for the gate to be unlocked. This led to a heated argument and a scuffle in which three students were injured, including a BBA student from Afghanistan, Esmaicss.

The Afghan students had left for Delhi on January 18, five days after the incident. Three Afghan students, however, had stayed back.

The issue was sorted out following intervention of Orissa higher education minister Debi Prasad Mishra, who went to Delhi and met the Afghan students, their embassy officials and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, which had facilitated their study here. He had promised to redress their grievances and ensure their security upon their return.

“A fully-furnished accommodation with 22 rooms has been arranged for them near the KIIT campus. We are taking care of their safety here. Buses will also be arranged to help them commute between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack for attending classes at Ravenshaw,” said director of higher education Bimal Prasad Nanda, who had come to receive the students.