India's police arrests 15 for cheering Pakistani cricket team
Pakistan's captain Sarfraz Ahmed, right, celebrates the dismissal of India's Ravichandran Ashwin, left, during the ICC Champions Trophy final at The Oval in London, Sunday, June 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Indian police have arrested 15 people, mostly youngsters, in central state of Madhya Pradesh and charged them with sedition allegedly for cheering for Pakistani cricket team during Sunday's Champions Trophy finals, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
Pakistan won the final match of the trophy, defeating India by 180 runs.
Police said the arrested men belong to Muslim community.
"The arrests were made after their Hindu neighbours complained that they set off firecrackers and shouted pro-Pakistan slogans after Pakistan defeated Indian cricket team," a police official said.
The arrests were made in state''s Burhanpur district.
Additional Director General (ADG) Indore Ajay Sharma told media police detained and booked the youngsters under section 124A (sedition) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
Reports said the youngsters were Tuesday produced in a local court, which rejected their bail applications and sent them to jail.
"They were taken to Khandwa district jail after court today rejected their bail application," the official said.
Sedition as per Indian law amounts to inciting people to oppose their government. The maximum punishment for sedition in India is life imprisonment. The law dates back to 1870 and was introduced by the British during their time in India.
Muslims in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir often get into trouble for cheering for Pakistan cricket team.
In 2014, 67 Muslim students from Indian-controlled Kashmir were expelled from a university in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on charges of cheering for Pakistani cricket team.
-- BERNAMA
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