The student, who hails from Maharashtra, has been restricted from sitting in exams and his hostel accommodation has been cancelled
(File Photo)
Asked about the ongoing examinations, NIT Srinagar Registrar Ateekur Rehman said the students will write the remaining papers upon their return from winter vacation
The National Institute of Technology in Srinagar declared winter vacations on Thursday, 10 days before schedule, and asked students to vacate hostels with immediate effect amid protests against an alleged blasphemous social media post by a non-local student.
The Jammu & Kashmir Police has booked the student in question for allegedly “insulting Islam” and “outraging religious feelings”. The FIR, a copy of which has been accessed by News18, shows the case has been registered based on a complaint by the campus registrar. The FIR was registered after hundreds of students marched inside the NIT Srinagar campus. Protests also spread to other colleges, including Amar Singh College and The Islamia College of Science and Commerce. Both were closed for Thursday.
“We have winter vacations every year and the same is the case this year also. The vacations were scheduled from December 9 but have been preponed,” NIT Srinagar Registrar Ateekur Rehman said. Asked about the ongoing examinations of the students, he said the students will write the remaining papers upon their return from winter vacation. “We will ensure that there is no academic loss for the students,” he added.
The FIR was registered on November 28 and the student, who is studying in the 7th semester of the Chemical Engineering Department, has been sent home on leave. The complaint by the registrar said: “The act of the student has hurt the religious sentiments of a particular community with a potential to disrupt communal harmony and can create a law and order situation within and outside the campus.”
The student, who hails from Maharashtra, has been restricted from sitting in exams and his hostel accommodation has been cancelled.
DGP of the Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a press conference that no one will be allowed to hurt the dignity of Prophet Muhammad. “No one will be allowed to hurt religious sentiments and we know our duty. Communal harmony has always been a pride for the people of Kashmir. Some people want to take advantage of such situations,” Swain said.
“Under 144 Code of Criminal Procedure, we will bring a law under which any content – message, video, photo, audio — that can harm communal sensitivity or can threaten anyone will be a crime. You can’t forward such things too,” Swain said.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has demanded action against the student, while calling for justice for seven other students from a different university booked under the UAPA allegedly for raising pro-Pakistan slogans and threatening a non-local student during the India-Australia ICC World Cup final.
