INDIA
\nIndian police in occupied Kashmir have arrested seven university students under tough anti-terrorism laws for alleged intimidation and \u201canti-India sloganeering\u201d after Australia\u2019s victory over India in the Cricket World Cup final.
\nPolice said on Tuesday that the students were arrested following \u201canti-India sloganeering and intimidation of others who did not agree with them\u201d after the match.
\nHosts India were favourites to capture the one-day cricket crown in the November 19 final but they lost to Australia in a six-wicket defeat.
\nPolice said the Kashmiri students at an agriculture university were arrested last week after a complaint filed by another student, who came from outside the territory. \u201cThey started abusing me and targeting me for being a supporter of my country and also threatened me to shut up otherwise I would be shot (sic),\u201d the police case file seen by AFP notes, quoting the complainant.
\nPolice charged the seven students under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a stringent anti-terrorism law, as well as other sections of the penal code.
\nMany people in occupied Kashmir support any cricket team playing against India \u2014 including arch-rival Pakistan \u2014 and fireworks were set off in the main city of Srinagar to celebrate Australia\u2019s victory.
\nThe arrests were criticised by Mehbooba Mufti, the former chief minister of occupied Kashmir.
\n\u201cWhy is there so much fear, restlessness and paranoia only because some students celebrated Australia\u2019s victory?\u201d Mufti told reporters on Tuesday.
\n\u201cYou [\u2026] want to destroy their lives for cheering the team of their choice and for expressing happiness when that team plays well. I condemn it,\u201d she said.
\nIndia has used the vaguely worded UAPA legislation against thousands of Kashmiri residents, journalists and dissidents, according to activists. It allows people to be held for six months \u2014 often rolled over \u2014 without being charged, and bail is virtually impossible.
\nIn 2021, police detained six residents and opened an investigation under UAPA against several hundred students in the occupied territory who celebrated when Pakistan defeated India in a high-octane T20 World Cup cricket match in Dubai.
\nPolice in Ganderbal district on Tuesday issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, to explain the context of the recent arrests, which they claimed were not about \u201cairing personal preference of a particular sporting team\u201d.
\nInstead, it was \u201cabout terrorising others who may be nourishing pro-India feelings or anti-Pakistan feelings or disagreeing\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INDIA Indian police in occupied Kashmir have arrested seven university students under tough anti-terrorism laws for alleged intimidation and \u201canti-India sloganeering\u201d after Australia\u2019s victory over India in the Cricket World Cup final. Police said on Tuesday that the students were arrested following \u201canti-India sloganeering and intimidation of others who did not agree with them\u201d after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-370987","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n