J&K students’ body urges CM Yediyurappa to drop sedition charge against 3 Kashmiri students

PTI, Aug 11, 2020, 8:14 PM IST

Bengaluru: A students body in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday urged Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to take steps to drop sedition charges against three engineering college students from Kashmir for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans and posting a video on a messaging platform.

The J&K Students Association also requested that the suspension of the students be revoked.

The three, studying at a private engineering college in Huballi district, were arrested on February 15.

The Association, in their letter to the Chief Minister, said the students were initially questioned by police and later released.

However after ‘unprecedented protests’ by right-wing activists, the students were booked and an unreasonable case was framed against them, the association alleged.

“The three students were suspended by the college authorities on some baseless and concocted allegations levelled against them after a doctored video was uploaded on social media,” the association said.

It requested the Chief Minister to take steps to drop the sedition charges against them, revoke their suspension and transfer them from Hubballi to Bengaluru to ensure a safe environment “to heal their psychological trauma and to continue their education without any further hindrance.”

Police had said on February 15 that action had been taken against the students, hailing from Shopian in Kashmir, on a complaint from the college management.