Three Kashmiri students, who were arrested in Agra last October for allegedly celebrating the Pakistan cricket team’s victory over India in a T20 cricket match, were released from jail on Monday.
Nasir Khuehami, a spokesperson for the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, who has been tracking the matter, said the three students were released from the district jail in Agra after six months.
Last month, the Allahabad High Court had granted bail to the Arsheed Yousuf, Inayat Altaf Sheikh and Showkat Ahmed Ganai – enrolled in Agra’s Raja Balwant Singh Engineering College under the PM’s special scholarship for J&K students – but they were not released as they could not secure a guarantor for their surety.
“The unity of India is not made of bamboo reeds which will bend to the passing winds of empty slogans,” said the Allahabad High Court while granting bail to the three Kashmiri students.
India-Pak. match
An FIR was lodged against them for allegedly posting a WhatsApp status praising the Pakistan players after they defeated India in the T20 World Cup cricket match. They had been in jail since October 27, 2021.
While granting them bail on March 30, Justice Ajay Bhanot said: “The foundations of our nation are more enduring. Eternal ideals bind the indestructible unity of India. Constitutional values create an indissoluble Union of India. Every citizen of the country is the custodian, and the state is the sentinel of the unity of India and the constitutional values of the nation.”
Justice Bhanot also stated that “students travelling freely to different parts of the country in the quest for knowledge is the true celebration of India’s diversity and a vivid manifestation of India’s unity.” .
