Panaji, Jan 21 (PTI) A 24-year-old Afghan student of the Goa University was stabbed and injured by some men near here after an argument, police said on Tuesday and ruled out any "campus rivalry" as the trigger.

Three persons have been arrested in connection with the incident which occurred on Monday afternoon in Dona Paula area near the varsity campus, a police official said.

The stabbing had prompted the opposition Congress to allege that youths are getting provoked due to the "poison" of "state-sponsored" actions.

The victim student, Mathihulla Aria, is pursuing M.Com at the varsity's Goa Business School.

He was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital in Dona Paula for the stab injuries.

While Satish Nilkanthe, a resident of Maharashtra, was arrested on Monday, Desmond Fernandes and Suresh Nageri were picked up on Tuesday, said police inspector Sudesh Naik.

He said another accused, identified only as Jonty, is on the run.

"The incident was purely a clash between two groups which have nothing to do with the Goa University," the inspector said when asked about the motive behind the attack.

Narrating the sequence of the events of Monday, Naik said Nilkanthe and three others had an argument with Aria near Dona Paula plateau after which he called up fellow Afghani students for help.

"When a large number of Afghani students rushed to the aid of Aria, the four persons stabbed him and fled," he said.

A police complaint was lodged by Rahul Tripathi, director of foreign students at the Goa University.

Meanwhile, Aria's fellow students on Tuesday demanded police protection claiming threat to their life.

An Afghan student Abdul Basit said that Aria is part of the 35 students from his country who are pursuing various courses in Goa University under the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).

Basit said Aria was the victim of the hate crime.

"We are not feeling safe in Goa anymore. We feel threatened. There is threat to our lives too. We want the Goa University to ensure that police protection is given to all the students," Basit told a press conference.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)