New Delhi: Fourteen students of Aligarh Muslim University were booked for sedition on Tuesday evening following an altercation with Republic TV crew.
The students were charged on the basis of complaints filed by Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha district leader Mukesh Lodhi and a Republic TV correspondent.
In his complaint, BJP leader Mukesh Lodhi alleged that he was attacked by AMU students who raised slogans of “Pakistan Zindabad and Bharat Murdabad".
“There was row among Hindu-Muslim students of AMU. My car was attacked by these students. BJP government has come to power which is why the Hindus feel empowered to speak before that our voice was suppressed," he told News18.
Charges were also slapped on former AMU Students’ union leader Nadeem Ansari.
“The sedition charges have been imposed on a private citizens complaint, we have seen the content and framed accordingly if the allegations are proved otherwise the charges will be dropped. The Aligarh police have not filed the sedition against them." Aligarh SSP Akash Kulhary said.
Meanwhile, a final year AMU student, Sharjeel Usmani, filed complaints against the BJP leader and the TV crew accusing both of provoking clashes and disturbing peace on campus.
“I have filed a complaint against the BJP leader and TV crew for creating tension on campus. The situation went out of hand after the TV crew came on campus and we asked them whether they had the permission to shoot, the reporter told me - we don’t get intimidated by terrorists," he said.
Usmani posted an account of the day's incidences and the Republic TV episode, in which the altercation is seen, on his social media page.
Usmani also rubbished Lodhi's version about the incident being a Hindu-Muslim row and said, “This is a cooked up story, AMU has never seen Hindu-Muslim clashes. This is all in preparation for the Lok Sabha polls."
AMU student cabinet member Nishanth Bharadwaj slamming the claims of a Hindu-Muslim conflict said, "If there is a communal feeling in AMU then how can a non-Muslim be a part of the cabinet of the students' union. The campus doesn't have a divisive culture. It is being done ahead of the polls. We are being provoked on religious grounds."
The university in an official memo issued on Wednesday said that incident was a case of "assault" by Imran Khan, Adul Mabood, Farhan Zubairi and Adil Khan on a B.Tech student - Manish Kumar and that the students "have been placed under suspension".
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