New Delhi, September 16, 2021 (PPI-OT):Indian states of Manipur, Jharkhand, Assam and Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases under draconian laws, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sedition charges, last year. According to Kashmir Media Service, Narendra Modi-led fascist government intensified the use of UAPA and sedition laws since the protests broke out against the new citizenship law, Citizenship (Amendment) Act, introduced by it in December 2019 and then three agri laws promulgated in September 2020.
Hundreds of people including activists, journalists and leaders of farmers associations and unions have been booked under UAPA and sedition charges. Under the CAA, many religious minorities, particularly Muslims, have been excluded from the Indian citizens. These laws triggered massive demonstrations. The farmers’ protests, which started in November last year, even continue, today, as thousands of demonstrators camping out on the borders of News Delhi, demanding revocation of these laws.
India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its annual report said that in 2020 169 cases were registered under UAPA in Manipur, 86 in Jharkhand, 76 in Assam and 72 in Uttar Pradesh. These states also recorded the highest number of sedition cases in 2020. As per the NCRB report, last year saw 73 cases under sedition. Of these cases 15 were registered in Manipur, 12 in Assam, 8 in Karnataka, 7 in Uttar Pradesh and 5 in Delhi. As per the report, altogether 44 people, including two women, were arrested in sedition cases last year while 1,321 people, including 34 women, were apprehended under UAPA.
For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org