A school teacher from Belagavi district of north Karnataka was booked for sedition on Saturday, 16 February, after she took to social media to hail Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attack in Pulwama, Sudheer Kumar Reddy, Superintendent of Police in Belagavi told The Quint.
She has been charged under sections 153 A and B of the IPC that amount to promoting enmity between different groups through words and action.
In a retaliatory attack, a mob surrounded her house on Saturday night, after her arrest. They pelted stones and attempted to set her house on fire but constables present nearby prevented the situation from escalating. Seven youths have been picked up in connection with the same.
The teacher allegedly forwarded messages on WhatsApp that celebrated Pakistan. One message was ‘Pakistan Jai Ho’ along with an image that said the same. She also forwarded a picture of the Pakistan flag and smile emojis, according to local cops.
The incident came to light when one of the persons who received the forwarded message took offence and alerted the cops and spread the word. She was summoned to the station around 6 pm in the evening while a mob gathered outside her empty house around 9 pm.
“People did try to light her house on fire but it was doused within 3 seconds before any damage could be done. Soon after her arrest, we anticipated that such an incident might occur and so we stationed some constables nearby who were quick to act and managed to disperse the crowd, even though they were heavily outnumbered. A few tiles in her home have been damaged but that’s it,” said the Superintendent of Police to The Quint.
The teacher was produced before a judge on Sunday, 17 February, and has been sent to custody. The seven arrested have also been remanded to judicial custody and have been charged under sections 436 and 511, which are – misuse of fire with intent to destroy a house; attempt to cause offence.
The Hindu reported that a rally seeking release of the arrested youths was taken out in Murgod by some pro-Kannada and pro-Hindu organisations.
Three Kashmiri Students Held For Lauding Terrorist: Report
Three Kashmiri students in Bengaluru were also in the dock for controversial Facebook posts that allegedly criticised the Indian army and hailed Pulwama suicide bomber Adil Ahmed Dar, reported The Times of India.
Waquar Ahmat alias Harris Masoor (19) of Kulgam district, Gowhar Mustaq (21) of Baramulla – both students of Spurthy College of Nursing – and their friend Zakir Maqbol (23) of Kupwara have also been accused of attacking a classmate.
Another youth, 20-year-old Faiz Rasheed, an engineering student who dropped out of college, was also arrested on charges of sedition and punishment for unlawful activities, in Bengaluru on Sunday, 17 February.
(With inputs from The Times of India and The Hindu)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)