Indian police have arrested three Kashmiri Muslims for allegedly celebrating Pakistan’s win over India in the T20 World Cup on Sunday.
Police superintendent Vikash Kumar in Agra — a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh — told reporters on Tuesday evening that a complaint was filed at the Jagdishpura police station after “anti-national” messages were sent by students at Raja Balwant Singh (RBS) engineering college following the match between the two cricketing rivals.
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On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Police tweeted that five people had been arrested in incidents throughout the state after “anti-national elements used disrespectful words against the Indian cricket team and made anti-India comments which disrupted peace.”
Police told CNN on Thursday that three students from RBS engineering college had been arrested on Wednesday “for committing an offense with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offense against the State or against the public tranquility.”
The three were also arrested for committing an offense of cyber terrorism under India’s information technology act, while the charge of sedition was added before they appeared in court on Thursday, Saurabh Singh, a deputy superintendent of police in Agra, said.
The sedition law is a colonial era law which prohibits “words either spoken or written, or by signs or visible representation” that attempts to cause “hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection,” toward the government.
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