Student Living With Neighbours After Mother's Arrest Over Anti-CAA Play

On January 21, Shaheen Primary and High school in Bidar district of Karnataka staged an anti-CAA play featuring students from classes four, five and six. The police later charged the school's headteacher and a parent for alleged remarks against the Prime Minister made during the performance, saying that they received a complaint and hence the case was filed.

Post the complaint, the police set off to the school and even questioned the teachers and students who were associated with the play. The headteacher, Fareeda Begum and Nazbunnisa, the mother of the student who allegedly spoke against PM Narendra Modi were then taken into custody on sedition charges.

Key Takeaways-

• Nazbunnisa, the mother of a student and Fareeda Begum, headteacher of the Shaheen Primary and High School are in custody for staging an anti-CAA play.
• Nazbunnisa’s daughter is eleven and currently, neighbours are taking care of her .
  
• Police interrogated the students and teachers at the school. This was done post an ABVP representative filed a  complaint.
• It is alleged that the anti-CAA play dishonoured the Prime Minister and spread anti-national sentiments.

The police later charged the school's headteacher and a parent for alleged remarks against the Prime Minister made during the performance

Police have questioned Nazbunnisa's 11-year-old daughter on the school premises. After the arrests of her mother, who is a widow, the student has been residing with her neighbours as she has no close relatives in Bidar. “I answered all their (police) questions but my mother was still arrested. I don’t know when she will be back," the student said, adding, “I have been staying with my neighbour since my mother was jailed. I have everything I need but I just want my mother to come back.”

Also Read: Will Shaheen Bagh Be The Turning Point In Indian Electoral Politics?

Police interrogated the students and teachers

Police allegedly asked Nazbunnisa’s daughter how the students practised for the play and whether it was okay to hit the Prime Minister with a chappal. The student said that in spite of her answering all the questions truthfully, the police still went ahead with the protest. The News Minute has the copy of the remand application which stated that Nazbunnisa told her daughter to make a statement against the Prime Minister. However, when a reporter asked, her daughter denied.

“Nazbunnisa already apologised on a television channel for that particular line in the play. But the police are continuously turning up at the school and are keeping students out of the classroom for hours. This is beyond the imagination of any reasonable person,” Tauseef Madikeri, the school’s CEO.

The police officer reacted by saying that these charges are not excessive by any means. He further claimed to know that Nazbunnisa asked her daughter to incorporate words in her lines for the play which were not in the script.

Also Read: These Three Jamia Millia Girls Have Become The Face Of CAA Protests

Allegations of dishonouring the Prime Minister

The man who filed the case against the school management, Nilesh Rakshala, an activist from Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)  accused the school of "insulting the Prime Minister" and propagating anti-national sentiments into the masses.

Vipashyana Dubey is an intern with SheThePeople.TV.