Seven students of Kashmir University booked under UAPA

Seven students of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) were booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), after their confrontation with students hailing from outside J&K following the cricket World Cup final match between India and Australia.

The incident was triggered after India lost the match to Australia. Following a complaint by Sachin Bains, a resident of Punjab, who is pursuing BVSC at the university, a case was registered. The incident occurred after India lost the match.

According to the complaint that named the seven students, he said: “…after the match, they started abusing me and targeting me for being a supporter of our country and threatened me to shut up, or I would be shot.”

The complaint also said that the “accused raised pro-Pakistan slogans that created fear among the students from outside the UT.”

The students, all hailing from Kashmir, have been booked under Section 13 of the UAPA and sections 505 and 506 of the IPC at the Ganderbal police station.

Student leader Nasir Khuehami urged Union home minister Amit Shah and J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha to drop the charges against students.

“7 Kashmiri students enrolled at the SKUAST Kashmir arrested after celebrating India’s World Cup loss; booked under UAPA. Urged HM @AmitShahJi, JKLG @manojsinha_Ji to drop sedition charges on the students, as it is an unacceptably harsh punishment that could ruin their futures,” he posted on micro-blogging platform “X”, formerly Twitter.