Mumbai: In a shocking move, the Mumbai Police on Monday slapped sedition charges on at least 51 persons who had joined a rally on Saturday and allegedly raised slogans in favour of sedition accused JNU student Sharjeel Imam, an official has said.
Imam was picked up from Jehanabad in Bihar recently for making seditious comments on the JNU campus, wherein he had talked about Muslims choking the Chicken Neck area in the North East to snap the link between Assam and India.
Police spokesperson DCP Pranaya Ashok told media persons that the action has been initiated by the Azad Maidan Police Station.
The 51 persons who have been booked were among hundreds who took party in a rally, the Queer Azadi Mumbai (QAM) march, organised by various LGBT groups led by Humsafar Trust on Saturday at Azad Maidan.
Earlier, on Monday, as some videos of the group raising slogans in support of Sharjeel Imam in the rally went viral, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party had attacked the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, while one senior leader had lodged a complaint with the police demanding action against those who had supported Imam.
Among those booked are reported to be several girls who took part in the QAM rally, but the QAM has dissociated itself from their actions.
The police have slapped charges under Section 124-A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code, and other sections, against the group, including activist Urvashi Chudawala.
The group was seen carrying posters with Imam's picture and raising slogans promising to complete his unfulfilled task.
