TUMAKURU: Six engineering students were taken into police custody here on Monday night for allegedly raising anti-India slogans.
The students were from Sri Siddhartha Institute of Technology (SSIT), run by Home Minister G Parameshwara. Incidentally, the minister had on Sunday warned that anti-national activities will not be tolerated.
The main accused, Praveen Kumar Singh, a native of Bhojpur district in Bihar, was booked under Section 506 of the IPC (criminal intimidation) by the Tilak Park Police. He was produced before a court and sent to 14 days judicial custody.
Singh, a seventh semester computer science engineering student, and others were celebrating their friend Manjith Kumar’s birthday in the boys’ hostel on Monday night. According to the police, the boys who were in inebriated state were hooting when the security guard told them to stay quiet. This is when the accused allegedly assaulted the guard and later raised a slogan ‘Pakistan Jai Ho’.
The guard informed the warden Muraleedhar, who lodged a police complaint.
The police also took five of his friends into custody, including Taneesh Ahmed Butt, a Kashmiri, for interrogation.
During interrogation, Singh denied to have raised any anti-national slogan. According to sources, he said, “I hail from a family which has served in the Indian Army. My father is an ex-serviceman.”
College principal Dr M K Veeraiah said he will take action against the students only if they are proved guilty. “We have apprised the Home Minister of the incident,” he added.
Parameshwara: FIR booked
Parameshwara said an FIR had been registered in the case and police were investigating it. He was replying to reporters in Bengaluru on the “anti-India” slogans raised by the engineering students in Tumakuru.
“One security fellow says I don’t understand what they (students) said. We don’t know at this stage. It is not very clear. An FIR has also been registered there (Tumakuru) and they are looking into it,” he said.
Asked if any action has been suggested against the students, he said, “I will go according to the law. Action will be taken according to results obtained from police investigation. Beyond that I don’t think I can do anything.” (With PTI)