Bengaluru, February 2: Minor students of Shaheen Primary and High School, aged between 9 and 12 years, were questioned by the Bidar police for the third time on Saturday in connection with a sedition case filed for staging a skit against the Citizenship Amendment Act. A team of cops, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Basaveshwara Hira, quizzed children whether they were forced to participate in the anti-CAA play and make statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Why Citizenship Amendment Act+NRC Raise Fear And Concerns: A Multi-Dimensional Take.

"DySP Basaveshwara Hira and two other police officers came and questioned the children. They started at 12 pm and finished the interrogation at 4 pm," Touseef Madikeri, who heads the Shaheen Primary and High School, was quoted by The News Minute as saying. "They asked the children whether the school had taught them or coerced them into making statements against Prime Minister Modi. They answered whatever questions they knew," he added. Karnataka School Students Enact Demolition of Babri Masjid at Function Attended by Union Minister.

Minor students were also asked whether the school or management was "spreading false information" about the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The anti-CAA skit staged on January 26. After a video of the play went viral, Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist Nilesh Rakshala filed a complaint based on which the Bidar police booked five members of the school’s management. Six children who acted in the play were below 10 years of age.

The headmistress Fareeda Begum and the mother of a child who had taken part in the play were arrested on January 30. The parent Nazbunnisa and Fareeda Begum have been charged under section 124A (sedition) along with sections 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 505(2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes), 153A (promoting, attempting to promote disharmony) and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 02, 2020 12:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).