The three Kashmiri engineering students, who have been arrested on charges of sedition, were roughed up by members of the Bajrang Dal when they were produced at a court in Hubballi on Monday morning. Visuals captured from outside the court premises showed members of the Hindu group hitting the three students, with the police trying to keep the angry crowd at bay.
A large crowd of people had surrounded the Judicial Magistrate-First Class court halls in Hubballi on Monday. They screamed "Bolo Bharat Mata ki jai" as the three Kashmiri engineering students were brought outside the court hall.
Visuals showed a group of Bajrang Dal activists rushing towards the accused to attack them, despite police escorting them. A few men tried to assault the men, but the police personnel were seen pushing the Bajrang Dal activists away. Even when the students were inside the police vehicle, the men hit the sides of the police bus.
The three Kashmiri students in #Hubbali accused of #sedition for uploading a video, were attacked by members Bajrang dal while they were coming out of the courthouse. Even though there was heavy police presence, they swarmed the accused and hit them, shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai. pic.twitter.com/6jA7aT7obR
— Alithea Stephanie Mounika//ಅಲಿತ್ಯ ಮೌನಿಕಾ (@alitheasm) February 17, 2020
The three Kashmiri students from KLE Institute of Technology were arrested on Saturday and were charged with sedition after a complaint was filed at the Gokul Road Police Station. The students were arrested after a video of them went viral. In the video, one of the students can be heard saying "Pakistan" and "Zindabad" while a song, used by the Pakistan armed forces, plays in the background.
On Saturday, members of the Bajrang Dal, and Akhil Bharat Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest outside the college on Saturday demanding that the three students be arrested.
They also demanded that the students should be removed from the college immediately. A few Bajrang Dal activists had also barged into the college prinicipal’s office and demanded that he inform the police about the video.
On Sunday, rumours spread in Hubballi that the accused were granted bail after Police Commissioner Dileep announced that the three accused were released under Section 169 of the CrPC (Release of accused when evidence deficient).
Bajrang Dal, Shri Rama Sene and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists had staged protests outside the Gokul Road Police Station on Sunday evening and accused the police of protecting "traitors." They burnt tyres outside the police station and shouted, "Down, down, anti-nationals."
On Sunday, the three students were briefly released while custody was being handed over to Hubballi rural police. Hubbali-Dharwad police commissioner Dileep told TNM that though the Gokul Police had arrested the students, the jurisdiction came under the Hubballi Rural Police.
The Hubbali court on Monday morning sent the three students to judicial custody.