Engineering Student Gets 5 Years Jail For ‘Celebrating’ Pulwama Attack

An engineering Muslim student was celebrating Pulwama Attack, in which 40 CRPF militants were martyred. The NIA court sentenced him to 5 years jail for his treason.

A 22-year-old was given a five-year prison sentence and fine of Rs 25,000 by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Bengaluru for making offensive comments on Facebook posts following the 2019 Pulwama incident.

At the time of the crime, Faiz Rasheed, the accused, was a third-semester electronics and communication engineering student, age 19. He has spent the last three and a half years behind bars.

When a convoy of the paramilitary force was assaulted in Pulwama on February 14, 2019, at least 40 members of the CRPF perished.

Rasheed was found guilty in court under Sections 201 and 153A (promote hatred between groups on the basis of religion) (causing the disappearance of evidence).

However, due to instructions from the Supreme Court, the Section 124A (sedition) trial was not held and was instead suspended.

The prosecution “adduced evidence to demonstrate that the accused posted the postings and comments with an aim to disturb the sovereignty and integrity of India,” the court remarked. “The accused’s comments plainly go to indicate that he was felt glad with the terrorist attack on CRPF Jawans at Pulwama by terrorists which generated disloyalty towards India.”

The court further emphasized that the defendant “felt good about killing magnificent souls and rejoiced in their demise as though he were not an Indian. Consequently, the guilty committed a grave offense against this great nation.”

NIA special court declared, “The accused hasn’t uttered disparaging remarks even once or twice. He left comments on every Facebook post published by every news outlet. He wasn’t an uneducated or common man, either. At the time the offense was committed, he was a student of engineering, and he created the Facebook postings and comments on purpose.”