Eight persons, including seven faculty members, were booked for allegedly forcing some students of Guru Ghasidas Central University to offer namaz during a National Service Scheme (NSS) camp in Chhattigarh’s Bilaspur district. Nobody has been arrested so far.
Police said the booked persons had forced 159 students to offer namaz during the NSS camp held between March 26 and April 1 in Shivtarai village under Kota police station limits, though only four among them were Muslims.
A probe was instituted after students came back and protested, following which Right Wing outfits too agitated seeking action against those responsible, the official said. “The incident took place on March 31. Bilaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Rajnesh Singh had constituted a four member committee under City Superintendent of Police (Kotwali) Akshay Sabadra to investigate the matter. The case was lodged on Saturday after the investigation report was submitted to the SSP,†said the official. Seven faculty members of Guru Ghasidas Central University and a team core leader-cum-student have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act for promoting enmity among groups on the basis of religion etc, outraging religious feelings and other offences, the official said.
Local police station said that the case diary has been received and a probe begun. “The persons named in the FIR will be served notices to be present for recording of statements. Action will be taken on the basis of further probe,†he said. Bilaspur SSP Rajnesh Singh ordered an inquiry and formed a four-member committee led by Kotwali (City) SP Akshay Sabadra. Based on the committee’s investigation report, a case was registered on Saturday against teachers Dilip Jha, Madhulika Singh, Jyoti Verma, Neeraj Kumari, Prashant Vaishnav, Suryabhan Singh, Basant Kumar, and student leader Ayushman Chaudhary.
“They have been charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act. We will arrest them soon,†IG of Police, Bilaspur range, Sanjeev Shukla said.
The case was initially filed at the Koni police station, with the case being subsequently transferred to the Kota police station for further investigation, the officer added.
