India police arrest Muslim citizens allegedly for supporting Pakistan cricket team News
dhana311 / Pixabay
India police arrest Muslim citizens allegedly for supporting Pakistan cricket team

Following Pakistan’s victory over India in a league game of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, police in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan arrested several Muslim citizens for allegedly celebrating Pakistan’s win.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan played their first match of the 2021 world cup on Sunday. Pakistan won the match by ten wickets and registered its first-ever win against India in world cup history, excluding the traditional 50-over world cup, which unlike the T20 version is, played every four years in line with soccer, rugby, field hockey, and the Olympics. Soon after the match, several reports surfaced of police crackdowns against Muslims for allegedly cheering on the Pakistani team.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the police filed two separate complaints under a stringent anti-terror law against hostel wardens, management, and students of two medical colleges in Srinagar for allegedly chanting anti-India slogans and cheering for Pakistan. Furthermore, after Pakistan won the match, several Kashmiri students studying in Punjab were allegedly beaten, and their hostel rooms ransacked, according to reports.

Moreover, the Rajasthan Police arrested Nafeesa Qatari, a Udaipur-based private school teacher, for reportedly sharing a post on WhatsApp celebrating Pakistan’s cricket match triumph over India. The police booked her under § 153B of the Indian Penal Code for making assertions that are prejudicial to national integration.

Further, Uttar Pradesh police have booked seven people for allegedly raising anti-India slogans following Pakistan’s victory. Police have arrested four people out of the seven, including three Kashmiri students Arsheed Yousuf, Inayat Altaf Sheikh, and Showkat Ahmed Ganai. The police charged them for promoting enmity between groups.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the police to charge anyone celebrating Pakistan’s victory with sedition.