The Delhi Police is all set to file a chargesheet indicting JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya for the protest held against the hanging of Afzal Guru on 9th February 2016.
Unidentified protesters had shouted anti-national slogans like ‘Bharart tere tukde honge, inshaallah-inshaallah’, ‘Bharat ki barbaadi tak, jung rahegi-jung rahegi’ and others. The Delhi police in its chargesheet claims that Umar Khalid got anti-India posters made for the event to show solidarity with Afzal Guru.
The chargesheet also mentions forensic reports of about 40 video clips, which prove that anti-national slogans were indeed raised at that protest. Nine non-JNU people (now identified), all hailing from Kashmir, were also part of that protest where anti-India slogans were raised.
The chargesheet would be filed under the section 121 A (sedition) and criminal conspiracy. The section 121 A states that:
Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.
Regarding Kanhaiya Kumar the police has dropped the ball in the Judiciary’s court and asked it to decide whether charges should be framed against him. The chargesheet says that he did nothing to stop the event but fails to explicitly mention that he himself raised anti-national slogans.
This indictment closely follows a clean chit given to Umar Khalid (referred to as ‘KU’ below) by poet and literacy enthusiast Javed Akhtar:
@09_rkg @tuzasanju if KU n Shehla had raised such slogans I would have been on your side but I know these two haven’t raised such slogans
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) February 28, 2017
Even the media folk were quick to draw a conclusion that the case against Kanhaiya Kumar had collapsed though the fact remains that it would be decided by the Judiciary
If sedition case against @kanhaiyajnusu has collapsed, will anyone have courage to say sorry? Or ‘desh Bhakti politics ‘ doesn’t allow it?
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) March 1, 2017
Umar Khalid has hardly been quiet after the whole JNU incident and had openly praised terrorist Burhan Wani and was all set to speak at Ramjas college in DU, which has now become a drama of accusations and counter accusations.
The findings and chargesheet by the police does however raise the question as to why some people are hellbent upon promoting Umar Khalid – son of a SIMI terrorist and someone who wanted Burhan Wani’s gun to be picked up for keeping the war on – and presenting him as some “nationalist” and “pacifist” figure.
