India: The Agra court in India has extended the judicial Custody remand of three Kashmiri students, arrested for allegedly cheering Pakistan’s victory and sharing pro-Pakistan posts after the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match on December 7.
Reportedly, Detainees Arshid Yousuf, Inayat Altaf, Showkat Ganai who are the students of Raja Balwant Singh Engineering College in Agra, were manhandled when they were produced before a magistrate Court.
The students have been booked under Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc) and 505 (1)(B) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66-F of the Information Technology Act which deals with cyber-terrorism invoked.
Mathura-based advocate, Madhuvan Dutt Chaturvedi who represents the three convicts said he has filed a petition in Allahabad High court seeking transfer of the case from Agra to Mathura for the security of his clients as they had been attacked in the court premises earlier.
He had argued that the sections invoked against the students were harsh. “In the Balwant Singh vs the State of Punjab, the Supreme Court ruled that mere words and phrases, no matter how distasteful, do not amount to criminal offence unless they are used to incite mobs for violent action. Moreover, Pakistan has not been declared an enemy country by the government.”
College records show that the students, who secured first divisions in 12th Class were performing well.