Kashmir varsity PhD scholar held for 'seditious' 10-year-old article

The newly constituted State Investigation Agency on Sunday arrested a Kashmir University pharmaceutical sciences scholar Abdul Aala Fazili for allegedly writing a seditious article over a decade ago for a local digital magazine.

The investigators conducted raids on the residence of Fazili on Sunday and also searched the office premises of the digital magazine 'The Kashmir Wala' where the article was published. The sleuths also searched the residence of the magazine editor Fahad Shah, who is already in jail under the Public Safety Act. Fazili's marriage was scheduled in May this year. According to the SIA officials, the searches were conducted in connection with a case registered in January this year, under sections 13, 18 UA(P) Act read with sections 121, 124, 153B and 120-B IPC of police station JIC (SIA) in Jammu, against Fazili, the editor and other associates of the monthly digital magazine. The article was published in November 2011. The search team has allegedly seized the incriminating evidence, which includes computers, laptops and other digital equipment.

"The article titled 'The shackles of slavery will break' written by Fazili and published in the TKW on the one hand is highly provocative, seditious and intended to create unrest in J&K, written with the purpose of abetting the youth to take the path of violence by glorifying terrorism and on the other the write-up promoted and propagated the false narrative, which is essential to sustain secessionist cum terrorist campaign aimed at breaking the territorial integrity of India," read the official press release issued here.