Lucknow Police books ex-AMU student Sharjeel Usmani for sedition over Elgar Parishad speech

Lucknow: Days after having been booked by the Maharastra Police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of people with his remarks at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune, former AMU student Sharjeel Usmani was slapped with the charge of sedition by the Lucknow Police. The case against Usmani was lodged at the Hazratganj Police Station in Lucknow on Wednesday night on the complaint of a city resident Anurag Singh, police said on Thursday. Singh has alleged in his complaint that Usmani used provocative words and language in his speech at Elgar Parishad conclave on 30 January in Pune with an aim to trigger hatred and anger against the UP government and promoting enmity among various religious communities. On Singh’s complaint, an FIR has been lodged against Usmani under sections 124A, 153 A and 505 (1) (B) of the IPC for allegedly committing sedition, promoting communal hatred and making statements aimed at alarming people and inciting them to commit offences against the state, a senior police official said. Earlier on Tuesday, the Pune police had booked Usmani under section 153 A for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups of people on the ground religion etc. A day after the registration of the FIR against Usmani in Pune, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had on Wednesday said the former AMU student leader would be arrested from whichever state he is in. He had said the police booked Usmani, an Uttar Pradesh resident, for his “offensive remarks” after conducting a probe into the video clippings of the 30 January conclave in Pune. During the conclave, writer-activist Arundhati Roy, Justice (Retd) BG Kolse Patil and former IPS officer SM Mushrif were also among those who addressed the gathering. Three years ago, several Left-leaning activists were arrested by police for alleged Naxal links following the December 31, 2017, Elgar Parishad conclave and the caste violence at Pune’s Koregaon-Bhima war memorial the next day.