Cops continue to question students in sedition case
Arrested woman’s 9-year-old daughter ‘traumatised’
BIDAR (Karnataka): Policequestioned some children and staff of a school here yet again ontuesday in connection with the sedition case registered against themanagement and staff following staging of a drama allegedly portraying Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poor light over the CAA and NRC.
"This was the fifth time police have come here. As usual theycame and questioned the children and staff," said a source atthe Shaheen School.
School Headmistress, Fareeda Begum and Nazbunnisa, the mother of a nine-yearold girl, who took part in the play, have already been arrested in connection with the case.
While both have been remanded to judicial custody, the child, according to sources, is traumatised.
"The landlord of the house where Nazbunnisa stayed as atenant is taking care of the child. She is traumatised," a school official said.
According to sources, the police came in for criticism from some quarters for questioning thechildren in uniform on January 28, two days after theyregistered a sedition case against the school and a person who had posted thevideo on his Facebook page.
A school official said "In the morning, three policepersonnel in plainclothes came with two members of the Karnataka State Childrights Protection Commission. Later, the deputy superintendentof police H Basaveshwara joined them.
When contacted, Basaveshwara refused to comment, sayinghe was still investigating the case. The police have been reportedly questioning the children and staffabout those who wrote the script and assigned to deliverspecific dialogues.
Meanwhile in Bengaluru, Congress MLA and former ministeru T Khader slammed the BJP government in the state as well asthe Centre for "filing sedition charges against people."
Addressing a press conference, he alleged that the Central
and state governments were trying to suppress the voice of people in the country using law enforcement agencies.
Khader claimed that the two women who "depicted theproblems they were facing" in the drama were booked under thesedition law.
During investigation, the children were forced to sit atthe police station, he alleged.
The drama was staged by students of fourth, fifth and sixth standard on January 21.
The sedition case was booked based on a complaint from social worker Neelesh Rakshyal.
The complainant has alleged the school authorities 'used' the students to perform a drama where they "abused" Modi in the context of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.
The management tried to create 'fear' among the Muslims that they would have to leave the country if the CAA and NRC were implemented, Rakshyal had charged.