Three Kashmir students, who are already facing sedition charges, have been re-arrested in the Indian state of Karnataka, a police official said on Monday.
Though the students were discharged on submission of bail bonds on Sunday, the police re-arrested them following protests against their release.
According to the police, lawyers, Hindu organisations, and student groups have been staging protests against their release outside police stations since Sunday.
Karyakartas of ABVP Hubli staged a protest by forming human chain against the students who raised pro-Pakistan slogans inside classroom. ABVP strongly condemns this incident and demands for immediate action against culprits. pic.twitter.com/gdbegJZDlS
— ABVP (@ABVPVoice) February 16, 2020
“There were chances of things getting out of hand and an attack on the three students. We re-arrested them in the morning following which they were produced in front of the court and have been sent to judicial custody until 2 March", a senior police officer said on Monday.
The three were previously released under the provisions of Section 169 (Release of accused when evidence is deficient) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Police sources have revealed several Hindu organisation members threw slippers and shoes at them around the court premises in Hubli district, around 400 km from the state capital Bengaluru. Some incriminating evidence against the three has been found.
#WATCH 3 Kashmiri students of KLE Institute of Technology, arrested after their video allegedly with pro-Pak slogans went viral, were produced before a court in Hubli today amid protest by some lawyers & activists of Hindu orgs. They've been sent to judicial custody till March 2. pic.twitter.com/WrwW8HtMIS
— ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2020
On 14 February, the three civil engineering students at the KLE Institute of Technology - Talib Majeed, Basit Asif Sofi, and Aamir Mohiuddin Wahi – shared a video on social media in which they were seen chanting pro-Pakistan slogans.
3 Kashmiri Engineering Students Ameer, Bashir and Talib studying in Hubli, Karnatka. posted a video on SM chanting Azadi and Pakistan Zindabad Slogans.
— Ｗａｌｉ ವಾಲಿ (@NetajiBond) February 15, 2020
Gaddari inke khoon me hai. pic.twitter.com/q8jvgpFp3U
According to the college's authorities, the three students have been suspended from the college, pending investigation, while the district lawyers’ association has passed a resolution saying that no bar member will represent the accused.
On 14 February 2019, a suicide bomber belonging to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad rammed a convoy of troops on the main highway in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 40 members of India's paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
The attack led to a deterioration of relations between India and Pakistan, with the former accusing Islamabad of harbouring Jaish-e-Mohammed, which claimed responsibility for the attack. The incident escalated to a full-fledged aerial clash on 27 February when an Indian MiG-21 Bison was shot down by the Pakistanis, while India claimed that it brought down a Pakistani F-16.
