JNU protests: Kanhaiya, 9 others face charges of sedition

New Delhi: Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and nine others were named by the Delhi police in a sedition case chargesheet filed in a city court on Monday. The police claimed that Mr Kumar led a procession and supported seditious slogans raised on the varsity campus in February 2016, a charge dismissed by the former student leader as “politically motivated”.

The police also charged former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during an event on the university’s campus on February 9, 2016, to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru.

Metropolitan magistrate Sumit Anand put up the chargesheet for consideration before a competent court on Tuesday.

In its chargesheet, the police claimed that it has video clips to prove the offence which has been corroborated by statements of witnesses. The other accused chargesheeted in the case are Kashmiri students Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain, Muneeb Hussain, Umar Gul, Rayeea Rassol, Bashir Bhat and Basharat, some of them were then studying in JNU, Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia.

Mr Kumar, who faces allegations that he had incited the mob to shout anti-India slogans, said the charge sheet was a “diversionary ploy by the Modi government to hide its all-round failures”.

“The charge sheet is politically motivated. However, we want the charges to be framed and a speedy trial so that the truth comes out. We also want to see the videos that have been placed on record as evidence by the police,” he said.

As many as 36 others, including Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja’s daughter Aprajita, Shehla Rashid (then vice-JNUSU president), Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Banojyotsna Lahiri, all former students of JNU, find mention in the court documents but they have not been made accused due to insufficient evidence against them, police sources said.

In the chargesheet, Mr Kumar and other accused have been charged with offences under sections 124A (sedition), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 465 (punishment for forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 143 (punishment for being a member of an unlawful assembly), 149 (being a member of an unlawful assembly), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In the charge sheet running into around 1,200 pages, police claimed that the footage presented as evidence were genuine and the presence of Kashmiri students was also establish through mobile clips and videos. It claimed that the Kashmiri students, who were wearing masks during the procession, but did not cover their faces while returning from the venue. This showed their involvement, police said.

The 10 accused persons have been chargesheeted on the basis of electronic evidence, including CCTV footage and mobile footage, and documentary evidence, which include statements of students and security guards.

The final report claims that no permission was granted to organise the event and every member was a part of an unlawful assembly.    When informed about the lack of permission to hold the event, the accused started arguing and fighting, it said.

A case was registered on February 11, 2016, under sections 124A and 120B of the IPC against unidentified persons at the Vasant Kunj (North) police station, following complaints from BJP MP Maheish Girri and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

The event in 2016 had taken place despite the university administration cancelling the permission, following a complaint from the ABVP, which had termed it as “anti-national”.

Reacting on the police chargesheet in the matter, the ABVP said that this decision is its the victory and shows that it presented correct facts before everyone.

“This is the victory of all those students who put their life in danger by showing courage to raise their voice against the traitors/urban naxals,” said Saurabh Sharma, ABVP leader and the then joint secretary of the JNUSU.