Man arrested in Karnataka's Udupi district for raising 'pro-Pakistan slogans', slapped with sedition charges

Mangaluru: A 43-year old man was on Monday arrested and slapped with sedition charges after he allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans in front of the mini Vidhan Saudha at Kundapur in neighbouring Udupi district in Karnataka, police said. [caption id=“attachment_2869294” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] The man, said to be mentally unstable, came in front of the mini Vidhan Soudha (a complex housing government offices) at around 10 am and shouted “Pakistan Zindabad” several times. Then he moved on to the corridor and continued shouting the slogan, police said. A video of the incident recorded by locals became viral within minutes. On being alerted by locals, police personnel reached the spot and arrested the man. Police said they registered a first information report (FIR) based on a complaint lodged by Kundapur tahsildar and he has been booked under sedition charge. There was no coherence in the statements made by the man during his questioning, police said. Udupi ASP Kumarachandra told reporters that police do not want to make any comment on his mental state as of now. Once the medical report was ready, detailed investigation will be conducted, he said. The man was said to be mentally unstable and currently under treatment. He was working as teacher and had lost his job eight years ago on account of the ‘illness’. Family sources said the man, who regulary watches television, may have been influenced by the news items telecast on such slogans raised by some persons elsewhere. Three students from Kashmir studying at a private engineering college in Hubballi were arrested on sedition charges last month for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans and posting a video of it on a messaging platform on the first anniversary of the Pulwama terrorist attack. On 20 February, a young woman, later identified as Amulya Leona, had raised “Pakistan Zindabad” slogan thrice at an event in Bengaluru against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Besides, “Pakistan Zindabad” graffiti had been found on the wall of a house and a school in different places in the state in recent days.