Following the sedition charges filed against the school authorities of Shaheen Education Institute in Karnataka’s Bidar for staging a play against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National, the police have questioned around 60 students for the same. The children were aged 9 to 12 years.
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Touseef Madikeri, who heads the school, said “DYSP Basaveshwara Hira and two other police officers came and questioned the children. They started at 12 pm and finished the interrogation at 4 pm.”
The police booked five members of the school’s management including principal Fareeda Begum and the mother of a child who had taken part in the play.
Touseef further added that the police asked “the children whether the school had taught them or coerced them into making statements against Prime Minister Modi. They answered whatever questions they knew.”
An FIR was registered against the school on January 26 following a complaint registered by ABVP member Nilesh Rakshala. The police have accused the school of spreading “false information about CAA and NRC” and “making minor children state that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must be hit with a chappal.” A video of the play had gone viral on social media earlier.
According to the remand application, the Bidar New Town Police questioned a girl, who took part in the play. It states, “The girl told the police during questioning that her mother Nazbunnisa told her to make the statement against Prime Minister Narendra Modi while she was practicing the lines for the play at home.”
However, the school has denied this and said that the line was misinterpreted and that the child added the line as she wasn’t prepared for the play.
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, who met the two women in the jail said they were scared and were hoping that they would be given bail by the court. Nazbunnisa is a widow and there is no one to look after her child.
Source: The News Minute