New Delhi, January 14: A chargesheet was filed by the Delhi Police against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case lodged against him in 2016.
Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Anand put up the chargesheet for consideration before a competent court on Tuesday.
Former students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya have also been chargesheeted for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during an event organised on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on February 9, 2016 to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru.
All three as well as the others named in the chargesheet have termed the move as “politically motivated” and questioned its timing, ahead of the General elections.
“The chargesheet is politically motivated. However, we want the charges to be framed and a speedy trial in the case so that truth comes out. We also want to see the videos that have been placed on record as evidence by the police,” Kumar told PTI.
मोदी जी से हमने 15 लाख, रोज़गार और अच्छे दिन माँगे थे, देश के अच्छे दिन आए न आए कम से कम चुनाव से पहले हमारे ख़िलाफ़ चार्जशीट तो आई है। अगर यह ख़बर सही है तो मोदी जी और उनकी पुलिस को बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद।
— Kanhaiya Kumar (@kanhaiyakumar) January 14, 2019
Kanhaiya Kumar is charged with sedition after 3 years and just 3 months before general elections! A law which was enacted by the British to jail freedom fighters is now used by the Indian state as a political weapon to quash dissent! #KanhaiyaKumar
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) January 14, 2019
Khalid, who addressed a student gathering at St. Joseph’s College in Bangalore on the “role of youth in safeguarding the Constitution”, said, “We reject the allegations. The move to file the chargesheet three years after the alleged incident is an attempt to divert the attention (of the people) right before (parliamentary) elections. We will fight it out in court”.
Others charged in the case are Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain, Muneeb Hussain, Umar Gul, Rayeea Rassol, Bashir Bhat and Basharat.
Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) leader Shehla Rashid, who had led the campaign for the release of Kumar and other students, said, “This is a completely bogus case in which ultimately everyone will be acquitted. The timing of the chargesheet right before the elections just reflects how the BJP wants to reap electoral benefits out of this. I was not even on campus on the day of the event”.
A case was registered on February 11, 2016 under Sections of 124 A (sedition) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC against unknown persons at Vasant Kunj (North) police station following complaints by BJP MP Maheish Girri and the ABVP.
The February 9 event happened despite the varsity administration having cancelled the permission following a complaint by the ABVP, who had termed it as “anti-national”.
