Sedition charge slapped on 15 Dalit protesters withdrawn

Say they dropped Section 124A of IPC after they found no evidence after reinvestigation into the matter

Finding themselves on the backfoot, the Karnal police have withdrawn sedition charges against 15 Dalit men from Amabla district after they blocked a road during a protest here on April 23 this year.

The 15 protesters were part of a group of 100 agitators who were demanding release of 10 members of their community who had been booked for murder of an upper caste man in March. Moreover, the police had booked only those protesters who had earlier met the chief minister over the issue during his visit to Karnal.

On April 26, a case was registered under Section 124-A (attempts to bring into hatred or contempt towards the government), 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code against the 15 people at the Karnal civil lines police station.

“Yes the sedition charges have been withdrawn during the re-investigation conducted by the police,” Karnal deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Shakuntla said.

About the reasons behind the U-turn, she said, “The charges of sedition could not be proved during investigation but other charges stand.” One of accused said, “The charges were false and the police had misused their power by booking innocent people who were protesting peacefully.”

Interestingly, the accused only came to know about the sedition charges a week after the incident and the police had refused to give them a copy of the FIR. Besides, the FIR copy was not uploaded on the department’s website.

Karnal civil lines police station in-charge Mohan Lal had claimed that the FIR was registered as the agitators did not end the protest even after the chief minister’s assurance and raised anti-national slogans.

As why a copy of the FIR was not uploaded on the department’s website, he had said, “As the matter was related to the community, we decided to not upload the FIR online. Also the police don’t provide a copy of the FIR to the accused.”

Members of the Dalit community of Patrehri village in Ambala were protesting for the release of four youths arrested for the murder of a 70-year-old man from the same village and demanded reinvestigation in the case registered on March 13.

On April 23, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Tanwar had also extended his support to the protesters and slammed the BJP government alleging that incidents of atrocities against Dalits had increased since the BJP government came to power.

ACCUSED GOT TO KNOW ABOUT SEDITION CHARGE A WEEK AFTER INCIDENT; POLICE HAD REFUSED TO GIVE THEM A COPY OF THE FIR