Kerala college students booked for sedition for putting up posters on Kashmir issue

Several classmates of Rinshad and Faris have protested against their arrest stating that the duo was unfairly booked for sedition

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Kerala police on Thursday arrested two students from Malappuram for allegedly sticking posters on the Kashmir issue inside their college campus. The duo has been booked under section 124(A) or sedition, following which several students have voiced their opposition against the police action.

The arrested students, Rinshad Reera and Faris (20), belong to the B Com department of the Government College Malappuram. Both of them are part of the Radical Students Forum (RSF), a political group in the state which is vocal about several issues, and had allegedly stuck posters condemning violence against Kashmiri students after the Pulwama terror attack which killed 49 CRPF personnel last week. The duo was arrested following a complaint by the principal of the college, KS Maya.

Several classmates of Rinshad and Faris have protested against the arrest on social media stating that the duo was unfairly booked for sedition for sticking posters condemning the Sangh Parivar attacks on Kashmiri students.

“Protest against the attacks on Kashmiri students by Sangh Parivar workers,” read the poster which protesting students claim the duo was arrested for.

However, Malappuram DYSP Jaleel Thottathil tells TNM that the sedition case was registered not for posters condemning the Sangh Parivar, but for demanding the liberation of Kashmir.

“The arrested students had stuck posters which read ‘Liberation for Kashmir, Liberation for Manipur and Liberation for Palestine.’ It was following this that we received a complaint and registered a case against them. We wouldn’t book them for speaking against the Sangh Parivar,” Jaleel added.

According to reports, cases against 7 students from the college have been registered so far. Out of this, two have been arrested. Both the arrested were produced before the district magistrate on Friday morning.

Speaking to TNM, Jalal Pullisheri, a relative of Rinshad said that the boy was picked up from his house on Thursday, following which there was no news about him.

“We are going to meet the principal of their college now and then go to the court to find out what happened,” he said.

The complainant, the Principal of Government College Malappuram, could not be reached for comments.