Kashmiri Students, Arrested Twice On Sedition Charges, Attacked By Bajrang Dal Outside Court

Three Kashmiri engineering students, who were arrested on charges of sedition , were beaten up by members of the Bajrang Dal outside a court in Karnataka on Monday, The NewsMinute reported.

The three students, who had been arrested on Saturday but released from jail on a bond on Sunday, were arrested again on Monday and produced at a court in Hubballi. 

On Monday, a large crowd of people gathered outside the Judicial Magistrate-First Class court as they were produced in court. The crowd shouting ‘Bolo Bharat Mata ki jai’, TNM’s report said.

Members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and other Hindutva outfits tried to manhandle them as they were being taken to the police van after leaving court, The Hindu reported.

The three students, who study at a private engineering college, were arrested on Saturday for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans and posting it on social media on the first anniversary of the Pulwama attack that left dozens of CRPF soldiers dead in Kashmir.

Officials told PTI that the selfie video of the three had gone viral as they posted it on WhatsApp. In the video, one of the students can be purportedly seen initially uttering something with background music on, after which they chant “Azadi” one after the other. Then joining the chorus to the music that is playing, they purportedly say “Pakistan Zindabad.” 

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The students were arrested let off on Sunday after the execution of a bond under Section 169 of CrPC, but were arrested again on Monday.

According to PTI, the action came after members of right-wing organisations staged demonstrations outside the police station on Sunday.

“They (Kashmiri students) have been arrested, produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody,” the Hubballi-Dharwad police Commissioner R Dileep told PTI on Monday. The three have been remanded to judicial custody till March 2.

Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik was among those who criticised the police for releasing the students.

Meanwhile, the Bar Association in Hubballi has passed a resolution saying its members would not represent any of the three students, The NewsMinute reported.