Sedition charges against 4 Kashmiri students in Raj

Jaipur: Four female paramedical students of Kashmiri-origin have been slapped with sedition charges after being suspended from a private institute here for allegedly celebrating the Pulwama terror attack by posting "anti-national" messages on an instant messaging app, officials said on Sunday.

The second-year students of the National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Talveen Manzoor, Iqra, Zohra Nazir and Uzma Nazir, were suspended for posting on WhatsApp a picture in which they were purportedly seen celebrating the terrorist attack in Kashmir that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.

The picture soon went viral, prompting the university administration to take action.

In the suspension order, the NIMS registrar said,"You have posted an anti-national message on your WhatsApp for celebrating killing of Pulwama terrorist attack martyrs. The university will not tolerate and strictly condemns such activities. The act is grave and serious in nature." Later, a case was registered against the four students following a complaint by the university administration, a police official said. The students were booked under IPC secs 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity) and relevant provisions of the IT Act.