Around 60 Kashmiri college students studying in Meerut were today charged with sedition by Uttar Pradesh police for cheering Pakistan's victory against India during a recent cricket match but late in the night it was withdrawn.
The police action of booking the students on sedition charges in its FIR, sparked an outrage in Kashmir Valley.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah slammed the action as uncalled for and an "unacceptably harsh punishment" and said it will ruin the future of the students and further alienate them. He asked the UP government to reverse the decision.
Abdullah spoke to UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who too felt that such action was not warranted against the students who, he said, may have shouted something in excitement without realising its implications.
The minimum punishment for a sedition offence is three years and the maximum is life sentence.
Late tonight, UP Principal Secretary (Home) Navneet Sehgal said the sedition charge has been withdrawn.
Separately, Meerut district authorities ordered a magisterial inquiry into the conduct of the students studying at Swami Vivekananda Subharti University.
Manzoor Ahmad, Vice Chancellor of the university, said a three-member committee under a Kashmiri profressor has been set up and a decision on revocation of their suspension will be taken based on its report which is expected in a few days.
On apprehensions of the Kashmiri students that they may be targeted if they return to the university, he held out an assurance that this will not happen.
Omar, however, said that what the students did was wrong and misguided. "The sad fact is that some of these students are recipients of the PM scholarship for Kashmiris. Perhaps they need to introspect," he tweeted.
After preliminary investigations, the authorities had expelled 60 Kashmiri students for three days and asked them to vacate the hostel after they cheered for Pakistan in the Asia Cup match in Dhaka and celebrated its victory against India on Sunday.
