Eight Booked For Allegedly Forcing Students To Offer Namaz At NCC Camp In Bilaspur

Eight people, including seven teachers, were booked for allegedly forcing students to offer namaz during an NCC camp at Guru Ghasidas Central University in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

Eight Booked For Allegedly Forcing Students To Offer Namaz At NCC Camp In Bilaspur

Source : ABPLIVE AI

Eight people, including seven teachers from Guru Ghasidas Central University, have been booked for allegedly forcing students to offer namaz during an NCC camp in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district, a police official said on Saturday.

According to officials, the incident occurred between March 26 and April 1 in Shivtarai village, located under Kota police station limits. "They forced 159 students to offer namaz during the camp held between March 26 to April 1 in Shivtarai village under Kota police station limits, though only four among them were Muslims," the official said.

The matter came to light after students returned from the camp and protested against the alleged incident. Following the protests, several right-wing outfits also agitated, demanding action against those responsible. 

"The incident took place on March 31. Bilaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Rajnesh Singh had constituted a four-member committee under City Superintendent of Police (Kotwali) Akshay Sabadra to investigate the matter. The case was lodged on Saturday after the investigation report was submitted to the SSP," the official said.

A case has been registered against Dilip Jha, Madhulika Singh, Jyoti Verma, Neeraj Kumari, Prashant Vaishnav, Suryabhan Singh, and Basant Kumar — all teachers at Guru Ghasidas Central University — along with team core leader-cum-student Ayushman Chaudhary. They have been charged under sections 196(b), 197(1)(b)(c), 299, 302, and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as well as section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act.

The case was initially registered at Koni police station, and the case diary has been transferred to Kota police station for further investigation, the official added.

(Inputs From PTI)