J&K police defends invoking UAPA against 7 students who cheered India's WC defeat

 Srinagar: As the arrest of seven students at an agricultural university in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district for ‘celebrating’ India’s defeat in the recently held final of the Cricket World cup is snowballing into a political controversy with the opposition accusing the police of overstepping its brief and violating public rights, the latter on Tuesday came up with a clarification that the incident was not merely about the raising of pro-Pakistan slogans by the accused but “terrorising others who may be nourishing pro-India feelings or anti-Pakistan feelings or disagreeing”.

The accused have been booked under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1976 and Sections 505 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code for “celebrating”, chanting “objectional slogans’ and threatening their non-local hostel mates after Australia defeated India in a one-sided final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.

Terming the students’ arrest as “shocking” and “disconcerting”, former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti said that cheering for a winning team too has been criminalised in Kashmir. “Normalising slapping of draconian laws like UAPA on journalists, activists and now students reveals the ruthless mindset of the establishment towards youngsters in J&K. They claim normalcy has returned to J&K but seem to be paranoid of everyone and everything”, she said while speaking to reporters.

Former Union minister and Congress leader Saifuddin Soz said that even if the students’ cheering for a particular batch of cricketers was not to the taste of the J&K administration, arresting them is “entirely unlawful” which will get the government only bad publicity. “On my reading of the events, I felt convinced that charging these students under section 13 of the UAPA and Sections 305 and 306 of IPC is absolutely wrong”, he said in a signed statement here. The police has been targeted on social media platforms, as well.

But the police has rejected the criticism as unwarranted and said that the FIR against these students was lodged on the basis of a written complaint received by it and relevant sections were invoked as per the contents of the complaint.

The police statement said that firstly it is not merely about raising pro-Pakistan slogans but the full context in which the sloganeering took place. “These slogans, as has usually been the case with select few bullies, were aired to intimidate those who disagreed and also to identify and vilify those who choose to keep a distance,” it said, adding, “It is also about normalising an abnormal that everyone hates India (as different from the government of the day and party in power) ‘openly’”.

The police said, “This abnormal and false thing is practiced mostly on the back of separatist and terrorist networks. In other words, the aim is not airing personal preference of a particular sporting team. It is not about dissent or freedom of expression. It is about terrorising others who may be nourishing pro-India feelings or anti-Pakistan feelings or disagreeing”. It claimed that there were written complaints to evidence this.

It said that the second aspect is the application of the right law. “Section 13 of UAPA is about inciting, advocating and encouraging separatist ideology. It is not about planning, aiding and executing actual terror acts. It classifies such actions as unlawful. In contrast to other provisions of act it is a softer provision of act,” it said.

The police said that as per the content of the complaints, FIR stands registered and section 13 UAPA invoked for inciting and abetting the unlawful activities. Section 505 and 506 IPC too has been invoked for ‘public mischief’ and ‘criminal intimidation’ respectively.