New Delhi: Reports claimed on Thursday that the sedition charge slapped against Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar may be dropped.
As per a report in The Hindu, a senior official at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) indicated that in the absence of any evidence that Kumar raised anti-India slogans inside the JNU campus, the Delhi Police may have to drop the sedition charge.
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi has said that his force has enough evidence to nail Kanhaiya Kumar. However, as per reports, the pokice have written to television news channels seeking raw footage of the event held inside JNU campus on February 9.
“There is some video footage available with the police, but the audio component is missing. It is not clear whether Kanhaiya actually shouted anti-national slogans. If there is no evidence, then the Delhi Police will have to drop the sedition charge when the chargesheet is filed,” the MHA official said, as per The Hindu.
Only a handful of TV channels were present during the event to cover it so getting proof in the form of raw footage is also not going to be an easy task for the police.
Most of the footage being aired on TV channels was shot on mobiles by students and supplied to news channels.
The police, meanwhile, have said in the FIR that a police team was at JNU when two rival student groups were taking out march. As per norms, police have to video record any protest or gathering where they sense trouble.
