The Uttar Pradesh police has registered a case against four persons, including a journalist from Kerala, under stringent sections of UAPA and seidition charges for attempting to create a caste-conflict in the state amidst the ongoing Hathras case controversy.
According to the FIR, the UP Police has charged all the accused under Section 17 of the UAPA that deals with raising funds for a terrorist act. The four people who were apprehended from Mathura on October 5 has now been sent to 14-day judicial custody.
On Monday, Uttar Pradesh Police had arrested four people – Journalist Siddique Kappan from Kerala, Siddiqui of Nagla in Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmed of Jarwal in Bahraich district, and Alam of Kotwali area in Rampur district for plotting a caste-conflict in Uttar Pradesh.
Reportedly, all the arrested four had connections with radical Islamic organisations Popular Front of India (PFI) and were planning to cause caste-based unrest in the state. The police have alleged that they were conspiring to spoil the government’s image and disturb the atmosphere in the area. So far, police have filed 21 cases across the state.
Conspiracy to cause riots and communal tension
Prashant Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) had said police received information about suspected persons travelling from Delhi to Hathras. The police intercepted their vehicle, leading to the disclosure that they had links with PFI and Campus Front of India (CFI).
ADG Kumar had also stated that there are a total of six cases in various police station areas of Hathras district. The Uttar Pradesh had also filed 13 cases for making objectionable comments on social media platforms in Bijnor, Bulandshahr, Saharanpur, Hathras, Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Lucknow.
The police had also recovered the mobile, laptop, and suspected literature from the suspects. The FIR launched against the four has serious charges, including threatening the unity and integrity of the country (treason).