Activist from Kerala arrested in Nagpur for 'preparing to wage war against govt'

Nagpur: A student activist and `independent journalist' from Kerala has been arrested here for allegedly `preparing to wage war against the Government of India', an official said on Thursday.

Along with Rejaz M. Sheeba Sydeek (26), resident of Edapally in Kerala, his woman friend who lives in Nagpur too was arrested separately, police said.

Officials of the Lakadganj police station on Wednesday arrested Sydeek under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 149 (preparing to wage war against the government of India), 192 (giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 351 (criminal intimidation) and 353 (statements conducing to public mischief) among other provisions, the official said.

Subsequently, his friend, Nagpur-based Isha Kumari, was also arrested, the police official said, without providing details about the charges against her.

Sydeek, affiliated to the `Democratic Students Association', was visiting the city to meet a friend on his way back to Kerala from Delhi when he was arrested, the association's Kerala state committee member Niharika Pradaush told PTI.

He writes for outlets including `Maktoob Media' and `The Observer Post', covering stories related to caste discrimination, communal violence, state repression and the rights of marginalized communities, she said.

He had gone to Delhi to attend a press conference organised by activists to demand the release of incarcerated journalists in India, Pradaush added.