Seven students of Sher-e-Kashmir University in India's Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have been arrested and booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), said officials on Monday (November 27). They were arrested after they allegedly raised objectionable slogans and celebrated Indian cricket team's loss in recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup.
The arrests were made after police investigated a complaint made by a student who accused his collegemates of harassing him and raising objectionable slogans after India's defeat in the final match. The student who lodged the complaint was not a local, as reported by Press Trust of India.
PTI cited officials who said that the students were booked under various UAPA sections and the IPC (Indian Penal Code).
"A student from Punjab has complained about the seven final year students of SKUAST - K (Shuhama campus) that he was threatened with dire consequences after Australia defeated India in the men's cricket World Cup 2023 final on November 19," a senior police official said as quoted by ETV Bharat.
"An FIR (317/2023) has been registered on the basis of a written complaint by Sachin Bains, a resident of Punjab and a student of the university, against seven final year students of the SKUAST - K (Shuhama campus). The Kashmiri students named by the complainant have been identified as Umer, Asif, Mohsin, Tauqeer, Khalid, Sameer and Ubaid. Further investigation in the case is currently underway," the official told ETV Bharat.
Media reports say that the student who filed police complaint is from Punjab and the arrested students allegedly threatened to shoot him as he supported India during the world cup final.
The complainant has reportedly said that the accused raised pro-Pakistan slogans after the match and this "created fear among the students from outside the Union territory of J&K"
Such disputes and even clashes between local and non-local students have occurred before in Kashmiri educational institutes, said ETV Bharat.
(With inputs from agencies)