Three Kashmiri students who have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district for celebrating Pakistan’s victory against India in a recent cricket match were manhandled when they were produced before a magistrate on Thursday, The Hindu reported.

Videos showed a group of men, including some in the uniform of lawyers, hitting the students outside the court, while shouting slogans of “Pakistan Murdabad” (Down with Pakistan) and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” (Long live motherland India).

Pakistan beat India with a 10-wicket victory at the T20 World Cup match held in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday night.

Arsheed Yousuf, Inayat Altaf Sheikh and Showkat Ahmed Ganai, students of the Raja Balwant Singh Engineering College in Agra, were arrested on Wednesday after they reportedly shouted pro-Pakistan slogans and put up social media posts in support of the neighbouring country after the match.

The students have been booked under Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc) and 505 (1)(B) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public) of the Indian Penal Code.

They have also been charged under Section 66-F of the Information Technology Act, which deals with cyber-terrorism.

The Uttar Pradesh Police have booked as many as seven people across five districts on similar charges. Chief Minister Adityanath has directed the police to file sedition cases against those celebrating Pakistan’s victory.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have also booked students and staff at two medical colleges in Srinagar for celebrating Pakistan’s victory. An operation theatre technician at a medical college in the Union Territory’s Rajouri district has also been terminated from service for posting a WhatsApp status hailing Sunday’s victory by Pakistan.


Also read: What laws are being used to book those who celebrated Pakistan’s cricket win over India?