LUCKNOW — Four students of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) were booked Monday by the police for taking out a march on the campus in support of Palestine amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.
The four students who have been named in the FIR by the police are Khalid, pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy, Aatif, a student of the Master of Business Administration (MBA), and MA students Mohammed Naved and Kamram.
“Four students have been named and several others who are yet to be identified were booked under IPC sections 153 A (promoting enmity among different groups),188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant) and 505 (statements conducting to public mischief) for taking out the protest march on an international issue without seeking prior permission from the authorities concerned at AMU. No arrests have so far been made as our investigation is ongoing,” The Indian Express reported quoting Mrigank Shekhar Pathak, Superintendent of Police (SP), Aligarh.
Mohammed Wasim Ali, Proctor, AMU, as per the newspaper said the march was held without prior permission and hence it was illegal. “The AMU stands by what our country has taken the stand in connection with the ongoing war. We cannot allow any indiscipline on a sensitive international issue on the campus,” Ali said.
“We have also ordered an internal inquiry and action will be taken against all those who have violated the rule of law,” he said.
Ali said they were informed that dozens of students carrying placards had gathered on Sunday evening at Duck Point and marched towards the Bab-e-Syed gate. He said they were shouting slogans in favour of the Palestinians and termed the bombings by Israel as “atrocities inflicted on innocent natives to establish supremacy”.
Satish Gautam, the two-time BJP MP from Aligarh, was the first to comment on the march after he saw the videos. “Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji has made our country’s stand clear on the issue. The country can never support terrorists,” said Gautam as per the Indian Express.
“The AMU students have taken out the march to highlight a different picture, which is not real. We will not allow anyone even if they are students to act against legal norms and hence police action is a must in this regard,” he added.