FILE PHOTO
AGENCIES / NEW DELHI
Former JNU Students’ President Kanhaiya Kumar and nine others, including Umar Khalid and Anirbhan Bhattacharya, have been charge-sheeted by the Delhi Police for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during an event at the varsity in 2016.
Delhi Police Special Cell filed the charge sheet in Patiala House Court today for initiating a trial against them. The charges against the accused are related to various offences, including sedition.
The other accused charge-sheeted in the case are Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain Gattoo, Muneeb Hussain Gattoo, Umair Gul, Rayees Rasool, Khalid Bashir Bhat and Basharat Ali.
According to the police, the accused persons allegedly shouted anti-India slogans during an event on the university’s campus on 9th February 2016, to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru.
A Delhi Police release said names of other 36 individuals have been put in the list of persons against whom sufficient evidence is not available to launch trial. The list includes names of former JNU vice-president Shehla Rashid and ex-student Rama Naga.
Metropolitan magistrate Sumit Anand put up the chargesheet for consideration before a court on Tuesday. Police alleged that Kanhaiya incited the crowd and was part of the mob that allegedly raised ‘anti-India’ slogans. A case was registered on Feb.11,2016 against unknown persons at Vasant Kunj (North) police station following complaints by BJP MP Maheish Girri and ABVP. In March 2016, a magistrate report into the event said that anti-India slogans were not raised and stated the videos were doctored to this effect.
It is unclear if the police are using the same videos as evidence against the students. It may be recollected that on Jan.10, Assamese leaders and intellectuals Hiren Gohain, Akhil Gogoi and Manjit Mahanta were charged with sedition for opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.