A Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sajid Bin Sayed has been booked for an alleged 'anti-national' tweet against the Indian Army and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
According to a report in India Today, Sayed is the president of the Campus Front of India and he has been booked by the Delhi Police under section 153A IPC (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 504 IPC (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).
The FIR was registered against Sayed on July 8 on the basis of a tweet which maligns the Indian Army and the RSS. In the now-deleted tweet, the student also urged international bodies to intervene in the Kashmir issue.
"Indian Military execute systematic genocide of Kashmiris which is devised by RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]. The BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] govt should stop their territorial greed and be ready to accept Kashmiris' right to self-determination guaranteed by the UN. It's high time to intervene in the issue by international bodies. #Kashmir," read the now-deleted tweet.
Reacting to the FIR, Sayed said this is an attempt to suppress the voice of dissent and that he is not the first person been targeted for criticising the government.
In a thread on Twitter, he said, "I came to know from the media reports that an FIR has been lodged against me over a tweet regarding Kashmir issue. Constitution grants freedom of expression to everyone. The constitutional rights of Kashmiris have been denied for many years and it's escalated since the abrogation of article 370 in August 2019. Speaking for the rights of Kashmiris is not a crime to book under 154 and 504 (sic)."
"I believe every Kashmir citizen has equal rights as any other citizen enjoys in India. Because Kashmir and Kashmiris are part of our country. However, BJP government treats the matter in an anti-constitutional and undemocratic way. Hence we oppose it in all possible means. This is an attempt to suppress the voice of dissent and I'm not the first person been targeted for criticising the govt. There are many behind jails but still their voices echoed. We will continue criticizing the government's anti-people policies and fight against hindutva (sic)," he added.
