Bengaluru Police Take Action Against Student Wearing 'Azad Kashmir' T-Shirt: Legal Implications and Public Safety Concerns

The video of the 'Azad Kashmir' t-shirt was uploaded to Instagram.

Bengaluru:

Bengaluru Police have initiated legal action against a student from Ambedkar Institute of Technology after he was spotted wearing a t-shirt displaying the map and flag of 'Azad Kashmir'.

A widely circulated video featuring the student - Inayat Ameen, enrolled in Computer Science - wearing this controversial t-shirt prompted police to take suo motu action on the matter.

Authorities were able to identify him through the registration number of the two-wheeler that appeared in the same video.

The Instagram video, posted on September 22, shows Ameen riding pillion on a motorcycle while wearing a red t-shirt with the 'Azad Kashmir' map and flag printed on its back.

The garment also appeared to feature the Pakistani flag.

Since the offense carries a punishment of less than seven years, Ameen was summoned for questioning and subsequently appeared to provide his statement.

Sources indicate the case will proceed according to standard protocol.

Police are expected to file a chargesheet once their investigation is complete.

A case has been registered at Jnanabharathi Police Station under Section 196 of the Indian Penal Code, which addresses actions that may promote enmity or disrupt communal harmony based on religion, language, or place of residence.

Sub-Inspector Mohan Kumar filed the complaint, stating that the student's behavior could potentially disturb public peace and harmony.

The complaint alleged that Ameen, "by openly riding and shouting slogans, while wearing a t-shirt with the controversial image identifiable as 'Azad Kashmir', has caused a breach of peace".

In a similar incident this March, authorities arrested Soumyadeep Mahato, a first-year philosophy student from Kolkata's Jadavpur University, in connection with 'Azad Kashmir' and 'Free Palestine' graffiti discovered on campus.

Mahato was subsequently granted bail.