Cases registered against medical students in J&K for celebrating Pakistan's victory over India

The cases have been registered against the students living in hostels at the Government Medical College in Karan Nagar here and SKIMS Soura, the officials said

Students and staff of two medical colleges in Srinagar have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly raising anti-India slogans and celebrating Pakistan's victory in the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match.

Reports said that the FIRs were filed on the basis of videos being circulated on social media, but no student has been named in the FIRs. Sources said that the police are in the process of identifying the accused and verifying the authenticity of the videos.

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The two cases have been registered in Karan Nagar and Soura police stations in Srinagar. The accused have been booked under Sections 105 (A) and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 13 of the UAPA.

J&K police chief Dilbagh Singh confirmed that the cases have been registered. “Several videos of celebrations have been doing the rounds since the Indo-Pak match. But most are old as of 2017. But a new video of a government medical college has also emerged. We have registered an FIR and action will be taken,” he said.

Nasir Khuehami, the national spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association, said the police action against the students is “too harsh and can ruin their careers and further alienate them.”

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People in several parts of Srinagar and other parts of the valley burst firecrackers on Sunday night and videos showed people dancing and cheering Pakistan’s victory. Videos from GMC Srinagar showed purported female students celebrating Pakistan’s win and chanting the slogan “Islam zindabad”.

This came at a time when Union Home Minister Amit Shah was on a three-day visit to J&K, his first since the revocation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state in August 2019.

Meanwhile, separatist-turned-mainstream politician and People's Conference chief, Sajad Gani Lone on Tuesday flayed a police FIR against MBBS students for allegedly celebrating Pakistan's win, saying in Kashmir "we have to live with those who are ideologically opposed to us.”

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"I strongly disagree. If you think that they r not patriotic enough because they cheered for another team- u should have the courage and the belief to wean them back if u think they have gone patriotically astray. Punitive actions won’t help. Have not helped in the past either, " Sajad wrote on Twitter while reacting to a woman suggesting that the students be suspended by the medical colleges.

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