Ashoka University professor arrested on BJP leader’s complaint for remarks on Operation Sindoor

Ashoka University Associate Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad was on Sunday arrested for his comments about the press briefings on Operation Sindoor based on a complaint by a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing, his lawyer confirmed to Scroll.

Mahmudabad has been arrested under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to acts prejudicial to maintaining communal harmony, making assertions likely to cause disharmony, inciting secession, armed rebellion or subversive activities, and insulting religious beliefs.

Ashoka University said on Sunday that it was aware that Mahmudabad was taken into police custody earlier in the day. “We are in the process of ascertaining details of the case,” it said. “The university will continue to cooperate with the Police and local authorities in the investigation, fully.’’

The case was filed on Saturday at the Rai police station in Haryana’s Sonepat district based on a complaint by Yogesh Jatheri, general secretary of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha in the state.

The associate professor was picked up from his home in Delhi on Sunday morning, and is currently at the Rai police station, according to Ashoka University’s student newspaper The Edict. Faculty members of the university and activists have gathered at the police station seeking clarity on the arrest.

Earlier this week, the Haryana State Women’s Commission had summoned Mahmudabad,...

Read more