Around 60 Kashmiri college students studying in Meerut were today charged with sedition by the Uttar Pradesh police for cheering Pakistan’s victory against India during a recent cricket match, an action that sparked an outrage in Kashmir Valley. The minimum punishment for a sedition offence is three years and the maximum is life sentence.
Separately, Meerut district authorities ordered a magisterial inquiry into the conduct of the students studying at Swami Vivekananda Subharti University.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah slammed the slapping of sedition charge as uncalled for and an “unacceptably harsh punishment” and said it will ruin the future of the students and further alienate them.
He asked the UP government to reverse the decision.