Govt urged to drop sedition charges against 3 students

Srinagar, May 17

The J&K students’ association on Monday appealed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to drop sedition charges on three Kashmiri students and revoke their suspension.

In a letter addressed to Shah and Yediyurappa, association spokesman Nasir Khuehami said the three Kashmiri students, who were arrested in Hubbali city of Dharwad district on sedition charges after an alleged video went viral on the social media, belong to financially weak families. They were enrolled in the KLE Institute of Technology, Hubbali (Karnataka), through the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS), an initiative of the AICTE.

He said the sedition charge was a harsh punishment that would ruin their future and further alienate them. “The students should not be deprived of the fundamental right to education which the Constitution of India upholds against all the odds,” the spokesman added.

Secretary of the Association, Davood Ahmad requested Shah and Yediyurappa to give chance to the students to continue their studies. He said the students had no other source of income to continue their education. — IANS