Two Indian students held for posting pro-Pakistan slogans

It was found that there was no malafide intention in posting, police says

Two Indian college students were taken into preventive custody on Wednesday for allegedly posting pro-Pakistan slogans on a Whatsapp group.

According to police, during a discussion on Whatsapp, one of the students posted “Pakistan ki Jai” during the recently held Pakistan-India cricket match. Another student had then posted in support of him. The incident came to the notice of the police after other students objected to the slogans.



The two were produced before the Executive Magistrate and were asked to execute a bond of good conduct. “They were released upon executing the bond,” police said.

“Prima facie they were mere statements, without any intention of sedition, made during a group discussion,” police clarified.

According to Times of India, superintendent of police Sharanappa S Dhage told Bangalore Mirror, "One bad element in the group took a screenshot of that chat and shared it outside. This spread in the local area, and was also brought to the notice of the police."

"The police summoned the students and asked them to sign a bond. Backgrounds of the students were also verified and it was found that there was no malafide intention in posting the chat. Hence, the case was closed," he added.



On Thursday, an Indian newspaper journalist was arrested after allegedly posting an “inflammatory” message on social media, police said.

Prabhat Singh had criticised police in a WhatsApp post about the situation in Bastar region of eastern Chhattisgarh state, where rights groups say journalists are facing official harassment from security forces.

This article originally appeared on Hindu