Mumbai Police records statement of TISS student Kris Chudawala in sedition case for chanting pro-Sharjeel Imam slogans

Mumbai: A 22-year-old student, against whom a case of sedition has been registered for allegedly shouting slogans in support of jailed JNU student Sharjeel Imam at an event in Mumbai, on Wednesday appeared before the police, who recorded their (their preferred pronoun) statement, an official said. The student, who goes by the name Kris Chudawala, a student of the city-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) appeared before the Azad Maidan police station in south Mumbai. [caption id=“attachment_4841151” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Chudawala had participated in the ‘Mumbai Pride’ event, which is a rally organised by the LGBTQ community at Azad Maidan on 1 February. Police allege that during the rally, they had shouted the slogan “Sharjeel tere sapno ko hum manzil tak pahuchaenge” (Sharjeel, we will realise your dreams). Imam, a PhD student of JNU was arrested in a sedition case lodged across several states for alleged “inflammatory” speeches made during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The Azad Maidan police had registered a case of sedition against Chudawala under IPC section 124 A. The Bombay High Court had on Tuesday granted interim protection from arrest to them. It had directed them to appear before the Azad Maidan police on 12 and 13 February for three hours in the morning and thereafter as and when required by them for questioning. “As per the court orders, Chudawala came to the Azad Maidan police station. She was there for over three hours, during which the police recorded her statement,” the official said. “The process of recording her statement will continue on Thursday when she appears before the police again,” he added. According to the official, their phone will also be recovered on Thursday as part of the probe.