Two Kashmiri students at AMU booked over Facebook post

Srinagar, May 29, 2020 (PPI-OT): An FIR has been registered against two Kashmiri students studying at Aligarh Muslim University in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh over a Facebook post. Police officials said, the students, Saqib Rasool Butt and Sheikh Arafat, were booked after they posted anti-India and pro-Pakistan messages on their Facebook accounts.

A per reports, the students had declared Pakistan as their home country in their Facebook posts. The police filed a case based on a written complaint from a local pro-Hindutva politician, Deepak Sharma Aazad, against the Kashmiri students at Atrauli police station in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh.

Station House Officer of Atrauli Police station, Dharmendra Singh, told media that they have filed the complaint against the two Facebook users and initiated an investigation. The police invoked section 53-A, 153- B, 66-D IT Act of the Indian Penal Code to file the case against the students. According to Section 153, anyone making assertions prejudicial to national integration shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.

There have been numerous instances in the past when the Kashmiri students have had to face the law for their social media activities. In February, three Kashmiri students were booked and arrested in Karnataka after a video showing them singing Pakistani Army song went viral.

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