Anti-CAA play: Bidar school HM, mother of girl held

The New Town police on Thursday night arrested the headmistress of a primary school of Shaheen Group of Institutions and the mother of a girl student in connection with a play staged against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) during the annual day function recently.

The New Town police on Thursday evening summoned headmistress Fareeda Begum and Anuja Minsa, mother of the child who took part in the play, to police station for questioning. After long grilling, the duo was arrested and taken into the judicial custody on late Thursday night.

Mother of the child, who was part of the play, is said to have told the police that the primary students enacted a play against the CAA on Jan 21. “In the original script, there was nothing that would demean Prime Minister Narendra Mod. During the rehearsals, the children were taught inappropriate words showing Modi in bad light, the police said quoting Anuja Minsa.

Superintendent of Police T Sreedhara said, the parents of the girl who exhibited a slipper during the play are being interrogated and the slipper has been recovered as evidence. Notices have been served to the directors of the school for not cooperating with the police in the probe. 

He added, the police have launched a manhunt to nab the president of Shaheen Group and an Urdu journalist, who had been booked under Sections 124(A) and 153(A) of the IPC for ‘promoting enmity between different groups’.

Meanwhile, five directors of Shaheen Group, including its president Abdul Khadeer who’s absconding, have moved District and Sessions Court for anticipatory bail on Friday.

Scribe Mohammad Yousuf Rahim, who posted video clips of the play on social media, is still at large.