Kanhaiya Kumar, Charged With Anti-India Slogans At JNU
A charge sheet was filed on Monday against former student union leaders Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and eight others for allegedly holding an “anti-national” event at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi in February 2016.
The police said they have evidence to proceed against former JNU Students’ Union leaders Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and seven students from Jammu and Kashmir – Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain, Muneeb Hussain, Umar Gul, Rayeea Rassol, Bashir Bhat and Basharat.
A special cell of the Delhi Police has been investigating the case. The charge sheets will be filed at the Patiala House Court.
“The case is in stage of finalisation,” Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik said last week. “The investigation was complex as the team also had to visit other states for taking statements.”
Reacting to the 1,200-page chargesheet, Kanhaiya Kumar said it is “politically motivated”. “When the magisterial inquiry was done, it was concluded that no JNU student was involved. I want to say, the police has filed a chargesheet after three years. We thank them,” the former student leader told NDTV.
“The filing of chargesheet after three years, ahead of elections, clearly shows it to be politically motivated. I trust the judiciary of my country,” he told news agency ANI.
Umar Khalid denied the allegations against him. “The government is trying to divert attention and change the narrative in an election year to hide their failure. We will fight the case and prove our innocence,” Mr Khalid told NDTV.
“We are convinced about our innocence, and have full faith in the court,” Mr Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya said in a statement.
The charges have been filed under sections 124 A (sedition), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 465 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine, forged document), 143 (punishment for unlawful assembly), 149 (unlawful assembly with common object), 147 (rioting) and 120B of the Indian Penal Code. The charge-sheet filed by at the Patiala House court is based on an FIR filed days after the event, on February 9, 2016, to protest the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
