Former Delhi University lecturer S.A.R. Geelani, who was booked for sedition in connection with an event at the Press Club of India here, was on Monday detained by the police.
“Geelani has been detained and he is being questioned at the Parliament Street police station,” a senior police official said.
His detention comes amid the raging row over the arrest of JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar over sedition charges in connection with an event on the varsity’s campus against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on February 9. At the event on February 10, a group allegedly shouted slogans hailing Guru, following which the police had registered a case under Sections 124A (sedition), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC against Mr Geelani and other unnamed persons.
The police had claimed to have registered the FIR taking suo moto cognisance of media clips of the incident.
The police also claimed that Mr Geelani was booked as he is presumed to be the “main organiser” of the event. Following the FIR, the police questioned for two consecutive days DU professor Ali Javed, a Press Club member, who had booked the hall for the event.
“Request for booking a hall at the Press Club was done through Geelani’s e-mail and the nature of the event was proposed to be a public meeting,
Following the registration of the FIR, the police questioned for two consecutive days DU professor Ali Javed, a Press Club member, who had booked the hall for the event.
