Excelsior Correspondent/PTI
JAMMU/MEERUT, Mar 6: Around 60 Kashmiri college students studying in Meerut were today charged with sedition by Uttar Pradesh police for cheering Pakistan’s victory against India during a recent cricket match but late in the night it was withdrawn.
The police action of booking the students on sedition charges in its FIR, sparked an outrage in Kashmir Valley.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah earlier slammed the action as uncalled for and an “unacceptably harsh punishment” and said it will ruin the future of the students and further alienate them. He asked the UP Government to reverse the decision.
Abdullah spoke to UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who too felt that such action was not warranted against the students who, he said, may have shouted something in excitement without realising its implications.
After withdrawal of the charges, Omar tweeted: “very glad that UP police has withdrawn the sedition case against the boys. Grateful to Akhilesh Yadav for his intervention in the case.”
The minimum punishment for a sedition offence is three years and the maximum is life sentence.
Late tonight, UP Principal Secretary (Home) Navneet Sehgal said the sedition charge has been withdrawn.
Separately, Meerut district authorities ordered a Magisterial inquiry into the conduct of the students studying at Swami Vivekananda Subharti University.
Manzoor Ahmad, Vice Chancellor of the university, said a three-member committee under a Kashmiri profressor has been set up and a decision on revocation of their suspension will be taken based on its report which is expected in a few days.
On apprehensions of the Kashmiri students that they may be targeted if they return to the university, he held out an assurance that this will not happen.
Omar, however, said that what the students did was wrong and misguided. “The sad fact is that some of these students are recipients of the PM scholarship for Kashmiris. Perhaps they need to introspect,” he tweeted.
After preliminary investigations, the authorities had expelled 60 Kashmiri students for three days and asked them to vacate the hostel after they cheered for Pakistan in the Asia Cup match in Dhaka and celebrated its victory against India on Sunday.
Earlier, SSP(Meerut) Omkar Singh said that on the basis of the complaint submitted by University Chancellor PK Garg, unnamed Kashmiri students have been booked under Section 124 A (sedition), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 427 (mischief) of IPC.
District Magistrate Pankaj Yadav ordered a Magisterial inquiry and Additional City Magistrate Rambharta Tewari has been given the charge of the case, Additional District Magistrate, Meerut, Satish Kumar Dubey said.
Around 200 Kashmiri students are enrolled in B.Tech and law courses in the university.
Two of the students identified as Gulzar and Mateef said the FIR was “illegal” and they had done no wrong and only cheered for a “talented team”. They said they won’t go back to Meerut without any guarantee for their safety.
“I believe what the students did was wrong and misguided but they certainly didn’t deserve to have charges of sedition slapped against them.
“I believe the University did what it had to, to control the situation, but this action by the UP Government is uncalled for and should be reversed,” Omar had tweeted earlier.
He had asserted that slapping sedition charge against Kashmiri students was an “unacceptably harsh punishment” that will ruin the future of the students and will further alienate them.
Omar, however, said the students did not commit any illegal act, irrespective of the team they were cheering for.
“Finally while what the boys may have done in Meerut is misguided, it certainly isn’t illegal, regardless of who them were cheering,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the students should introspect their actions as they had been selected under the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme.
“The sad fact is that some of these students are recipients of the PM scholarship for Kashmiris. Perhaps they need to introspect,” he added.
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