Bengaluru: In an unusual move, the Karnataka police in the northern town of Bidar have been questioning young students for around four hours in a sedition case against their school.
The questioning of children aged between 9 and 12 at the Shaheen Primary and High School in Bidar district spun into a major political slugfest as the police asked the teachers to move out and questioned around 60 students.
The questioning was in connection with the alleged staging of an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) play in the school on January 21.
Days after the play was staged, the school’s headmistress and a student’s mother were arrested for their involvement.
“The Deputy Superintendent of Police comes around 1 pm. They question the children till 4 O’clock. This is what has been happening for the last 4 days. We don’t know why they have put a sedition case against us,” the school’s CEO Thouseef Madikeri told NDTV.
Last week, police had registered a sedition case against the school in for allegedly allowing students to stage an anti-CAA, NRC play, portraying Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poor light. The case was registered on a complaint from social worker Neelesh Rakshyal on January 26, police said.
In his complaint, Rakshyal alleged that that the school authorities ‘used’ the students to perform a drama on January 21, where they “abused” PM Modi for introducing the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.
The video of the play had gone viral showing students enacting the play. A local resident who was part of the audience uploaded a video of the function on his Facebook page, the complainant said.
Soon after the video went viral, the management of Shaheen School was booked for “promoting enmity between different groups” under Sections 124(A) and 153(A) of the Indian Penal Code.
“The management tried to create fear among the Muslims that they would have to leave the country if the CAA and NRC are implemented,” Rakshyal said.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) BJP’s student wing also jumped into the fray and protested against the school.
