A Mysuru judge has granted interim bail to a young woman, an alumna of Mysuru University who was seen holding a ‘Free Kashmir’ placard during an anti-CAA gathering in the university campus on January 8.
The bail order came as Nandini B had approached the Second Additional District and Sessions Court and the bail was granted after furnishing a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh. She has been granted bail on the condition that she does not leave the court’s jurisdictional area until the matter is disposed of, reported The Times of India.
TNM earlier reported how police had filed sedition charges against the young woman who held the poster along with others. The ‘Free Kashmir’ placard featured when the students were holding a protest march, holding lit torches and shouting slogans a.gainst the violence unleashed in JNU.
Videos showed one person holding a small poster in black with the words “Free Kashmir” written in white, and the videos were shared widely on social media.
To make her stand clear, Nalini had issued a public statement about the poster.
“I want to clarify regarding the placard ‘Free Kashmir’ that I was holding at the protest organised at the University of Mysore on January 8. I was trying to bring notice to the Internet shutdown which has been imposed in the valley through the placard. From August 5th, 2019, about 156 days since the abrogation of article 370, there has been an internet blockade which has resulted in the silencing of Kashmir. We haven’t heard from them for 5 months and 2 days," she said.
The statement added that it was a privilege to dissent and raise voices in protest, “I wanted to remember and remind people that coming out to the streets to protest against the unconstitutional CAA, NRC, NPR is a privilege we have. We have been able to amplify our voices against it, while the valley has been in darkness unable to voice out their dissent. This is all I meant by ‘Free Kashmir’. Nothing more, nothing less. None of the student bodies of the University of Mysore are responsible for the placard.”
Speaking to TOI, Mysuru City Police Commissioner KT Balakrishna confirmed that no arrests have been made and said only notices have been served to six protesters