Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh: Fourteen Aligarh Muslim University students, including their union chief, were booked under sedition charges after protests on the campus following reports of a planned visit by AIMIM lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi.
The students were booked under sedition charges after a complaint was filed by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) activist Mukesh Lodhi, alleging that he was assaulted amid chants of pro-Pakistan slogans by some students, the police said
Late Tuesday night, cases under sections 124-A (sedition), section 307 (attempt to murder) and eight other sections of the IPC were registered against 14 students, including the president of students' union Salman Imtiaz and vice president Huzaifa Aamir on the complaint of BJYM activist Mukesh Lodhi.
He alleged that when he was driving across the AMU Circle, these students surrounded him and launched a 'murderous assault' and raised pro-Pakistan slogans.
ABVP activists staged a protest near the Faiz Gate of the university after some media reports claimed that Owaisi was invited to address a function organised by the AMU Students' Union.
They demanded that he be not allowed to enter the campus. Owaisi, however, did not turn up.
An AMU spokesman said a TV channel team, which had come to cover the anticipated event, had an altercation with some students while they were filming inside the campus.
The spokesman said the channel had not sought permission from authorities for live coverage and when the university staff pointed this out, there was a heated exchange in which some students were also involved.
The mediapersons claimed they were roughed up by some students while they were filming on the campus and their camera was smashed.
Complaints were lodged at the Civil Lines Police Station by both the AMU authorities and the TV channel crew.
A complaint was also filed by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha members which alleged that they were beaten up near the Faiz Gate and a motorcycle, belonging to one of them, was set on fire.
It was not immediately clear if this incident was also related to Owaisi's visit.
Senior Superintendent of Police Akash Kulhari told PTI that a number of complaints were given by different groups at the Civil Lines police station and the police were in the process of filing the reports.
AMU has issued an advisory to students, asking them "not to move out of campus as a precautionary measure".
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