Bidar school sedition case: Mother reunited with daughter after a fortnight, headmistress gets bail too

Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

NewsBits.in

BIDAR: The two women including headmistress of a school and mother of a child, who were charged with sedition and  arrested, were finally released from the prison. 

It took over a fortnight before they could get bail in the case that had caused outrage across the country. Najmunnisa was finally reunited with her daughter who was staying with another family ever since her mother was arrested and sent to jail.

The schools' headmistress Farida Begam too was released on bail along with her. The outrageous turn of events in the case had shocked citizens. The women were booked for sedition over a play staged in the school over controversial citizenship act and NRC. 

The girl's mother and the headmistress of the school were booked under the draconian law and were sent to prison. Besides, children were interrogated by the police. Initially, the bail plea of the two women was also rejected. There were protests and wide condemnation of the harsh police action as well as the manner in which the 'probe' was conducted.

Despite the fact that the play featured minor children, there was lack of sensitivity and kids were subjected to repeated police interrogation. Also, the statements of certain officials including the department of public instructions (which had issued notice to school), shows that even before inquiry, there were preconceived notions that a 'crime' had been committed and hence action ought to be taken. 

In fact, there were at least four separate rounds of grilling with minors. The police teams interrogated the kids repeatedly over the play and the dialogues. From charging the women with sedition over a mere play to the arrests & interrogation with children, the case shows how law can be misused on the ground.

The excessive zeal to slap harsh sections of the Indian Penal Code, is worrying. For the moment, there is relief as the women have got released on bail. However, the case stands and the trial would contiune. There are demands to withdraw the sedition charges from different sections including politicians, activists, citizens and lawyers. [Photo: social media, due credit will be given as soon as we get more info]