National Embarrassment

How the MP police made a complete mockery of law enforcement in the cricket final sedition case

- Rahul Noronha

In Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur district, on the night of June 18 after the Champions Trophy cricket final telecast, 15 Muslim men were arrested by the police. The charge was sedition (IPC Section 124-A) and conspiracy (120-B), for they had reportedly cheered for Pakistan after their famous win.

The accused were finally granted bail by a court on June 27 evening, after spending nine days in jail. By then, the MP police had covered itself in ignominy, earning ire and ridicule in equal measure for arresting the men—aged between 18 and 40 years—on the claim by a Hindu neighbour in Mohad village. The bail was secured after Subhash Koli, the original plaintiff, told the court that he had been forced by the police to make the complaint.