Kashmiri students face anti-terror cases after Australia beat India in cricket

The regional police in India-administered Kashmir have arrested seven Kashmiri students under the anti-terror law for allegedly raising pro-Pakistani slogans and celebrating the Indian cricket team's loss in the World Cup final, officials have said.

According to officials' Monday statement, the arrested youth are undergraduate students of a regional University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology.

India lost to Australia in the Cricket World Cup on Nov. 19.

As per the first information report filed by police in central Ganderbal district, the students have been booked under various sections of anti-terror law related to allegedly "abetting, advocating or inciting any unlawful activity."

They have also been booked under sections of the Indian penal code for "public mischief and criminal intimidation."

Seven students

The case has been registered on the basis of a complaint by a non-local student studying at the varsity who accused the Kashmiri students of "abusing and threatening him" while raising pro-Pakistani slogans and cheering India's defeat.

The seven students were arrested on Nov. 20.

It is not the first time that Kashmiri students have been arrested for expressing support to teams other than India in a cricket match.

In 2021 and 2016, the regional police also filed similar cases against Kashmiris in the region while Kashmiri students studying outside in different Indian states had to face tough times during and after such cricket matches.