J&K police arrests three publishers over 'controversial' school books

The counter-intelligence unit of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has arrested three publishers in connection with an ongoing investigation into a controversy over books allegedly containing highly inappropriate content.

The three arrested publishers are Inderpaul of Oberoi Book Service, and Amardeep Singh and Girish Arora of Noida-based Dominant Publishers.

The arrests are part of a broader investigation into the publication and distribution of books deemed to contain "highly inappropriate content".


An FIR was registered by the Counter Intelligence Unit in Jammu on July 4 under Sections 49 (abetment), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 152 (endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India), 196 (promoting enmity and disharmony), and 353 (publishing or circulating false statements, rumours, or reports) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The action was taken after two books found in government libraries and distributed under the Samagra Shiksha scheme were found to contain chapters glorifying separatist leaders. One of the books, Personalities and Legends of J&K, authored by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena, was published by Jammu-based Oberoi Book Service.

The second book, Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir, authored by Sushant Giri, was published by Delhi-based Anurag Prakashan.

The J&K administration has already withdrawn the books and blacklisted both the publishers and the authors. Eight employees of the education department have been suspended, while a contractual staffer has been dismissed for allegedly approving the books under the government scheme. An inquiry into the incident is underway.

The J&K administration and the University of Kashmir have also launched a comprehensive review of books, directing heads of departments and school principals to remove any material deemed "controversial" or "anti-national".