Trio Slapped With Sedition Charges for 'Raising Pro-Pakistan Slogans' During Eid in Uttar Pradesh

Earlier this year, India's Supreme Court slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh for abusing the country's sedition law. The court observed that "indiscriminate use of Section 124A (sedition) in the Indian Penal Code is like a saw in the hands of a carpenter who cuts the entire forest instead of a tree."

Three people have been arrested in the city of Noida in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on sedition charges for holding signs emblazoned with pro-Pakistan slogans during an Eid al-Fitr procession, the state police said on Friday.

The officials also said that the accused – Mohammad Zafar, Samir Ali, and Ali Razawere – were arrested after they were filmed on 20 October during the march. Scores of Hindus rallied outside the police station where they were being held on Thursday, demanding they be punished.

Uttar Pradesh State Chief Yogi Adityanath also said on Thursday that anyone who raises pro-Pakistan slogans in the state will be booked under the stringent sedition law.

A day earlier, the state's police arrested three Kashmiri students in an Agra city college for sedition after they reportedly posted message on social media following Pakistan's victory in the T20 Cricket World Cup against arch-rivals India in in Dubai on Sunday.