A 22-year-old Tauseef Ahmad Bhat, an engineering graduate from valley, would have never imagined that ‘sharing’ and ‘liking’ a series of Facebook posts related to pro-azadi (freedom) campaign and alleged atrocities on Kashmiris by security forces could land him behind the bars on charges of sedition.
On Thursday, Chhattisgarh Police in joint operation with Madhya Pradesh (MP) police nabbed Bhat at Sagar railway station, MP while he was returning home to Kashmir via Jammu Tawi Express.
“The complaint was that Tauseef Ahmad….had commented on, liked and shared several things against India, such as ‘India Go Back’, on Facebook…Based on this complaint, we filed a case under section 124A (sedition) of the IPC,” said Amresh Mishra, Superintendent of Police, Durg the district where the incident took place.
Reportedly, Bhat who is a native of Sopore left Bhilai after a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against him on August 2. The FIR was based on a complaint by Bhilai Bajrang Dal co-coordinator Rajat Yadav.
As per his Facebook profile and police statement, Bhat did his graduation from Rungta College of Engineering and Technology, Bhilai. For past few months he was working with a mobile company (Vivo Mobile) in Bhilai.
Bhat’s Facebook timeline is full with pro-azadi posts and alleged atrocities on Kashmiri population by security forces.
Section 124 (A) defines sedition as, “Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in [India].” It further adds, “The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.”
In February, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) row and arrest of its Student Union President Kanhaiya Kumar on charges of sedition led to fierce debate on validity and definition of the law itself. But will Bhat’s arrest trigger any such discussion in public discourse, challenging viability of this law?