Outburst against BJP seditious, disrespect for national anthem ‘choice’
Box1: Demand for FIR against art academy official
*For two days, social activists have been approaching the Nowabad police station to file a case against a senior officer of the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages for disrespecting the national anthem in public
*The police, however, are hesitant to take action. Cops are not getting permission from their higher-ups to register a case in this regard
*Despite the fact that senior civil and police officers were present at the function in which the official had refused to stand when the national anthem was played, cops are not registering an FIR.
BOX2: Even as Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has asked the higher-ups in the police to conduct an inquiry regarding booking shelling victims under sedition charges, the police have registered an FIR against some youth who had raised some demands before BJP ministers during their visit to Sunderbani on February 23. The FIR has been registered under Sections 188 and 341 of the RPC.
Dinesh Manhotra
Tribune News Service
Jammu, March 18
In Jammu and Kashmir, outburst against the BJP is considered seditious, while publicly disrespecting the national anthem is one’s “right to freedom and liberty”.
Social activists have been approaching the Nowabad police station to file a case against a senior officer of the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) for disrespecting the national anthem in public. The police, however, are hesitant to take action. Cops are not getting permission from their higher-ups to register a case in this regard.
“Some social and political activists have submitted an application in the police station to a register case against an official of the JKAACL for publicly dishonouring the national anthem,” Neeraj Bhagat, Nowabad SHO, told The Tribune, maintaining the case was yet to be registered.
Sources said the police had been given clear directions from the higher-ups not to register any case in the incident as “respecting or disrespecting” the national anthem is one’s own choice. “Instead of pursuing the investigation, cops have been directed to avoid any legal action,” said the sources.
In a video, which has gone viral in the last couple of days, the JKAACL official can be seen disrespecting the national anthem during the inauguration of a cultural event in Jammu a few days ago. Cops, however, claim they are in the process of identifying the person before registering a case.
Despite the fact that senior civil and police officers were present at the function in which the official had refused to stand when the national anthem was played, cops are not registering an FIR.
Recently, the police had sought permission from court to register an FIR on the sedition charges against family members of a deceased shelling victim, for raising slogans against the BJP leadership.
“Derogatory” remarks were allegedly made against the BJP leadership for betraying border residents during the cremation of Suresh Kumar Choudhary of the Kamore camp in Samba’s Ramgarh sector, who had sustained serious injuries in Pakistan shelling on January 19 and later died due to non-availability of medical facilities.
