New Delhi: The families of seven Kashmiri students, who were booked under anti-terror law for allegedly shouting pro-Pakistan slogans after India’s loss to Australia in the finals of the recently concluded cricket World Cup, have appealed to the authorities to drop the charges against them.Speaking with The Wire, Syed Mohammad Qasim Bukhari, father of one of the accused students said that his son was not involved in any criminal activity in the past, “I have toiled hard for his education. What has happened is unfortunate but I refuse to believe that he was involved in any anti-national activity.”Qasim’s son is a fourth semester student of Bachelors in Veterinary Science at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Science and Technology where, on November 19, Kashmiri students allegedly celebrated after India lost to Australia in the finals. The family lives in north Kashmir’s Baramulla.He said that the authorities should drop the charges against his son and other students so that they can continue their education, “The government should not put the careers of students at stake. If they have committed any wrong, I apologise on their behalf and appeal the authorities to set him free,” he said.According to a police complaint, the celebrations were allegedly reported from one of the two undergraduate hostels of the university. The complainant, Sachin Bains, a student from Punjab, stated that there was purported sloganeering inside the hostel, where some local students stay, and he was allegedly abused and threatened by Kashmiri students purportedly over rooting for India.Following the complaint, a First Information Report was filed by Ganderbal police station under Section 13 ( advocating, abetting or inciting any unlawful activity) of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (UAPA) and Sections 505 (inciting communal violence) and 506 (criminal intimidation) in connection with the incident and seven Kashmiri students named in the complain were arrested under anti-terror law among other charges.A court in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal has sent the seven suspects to police remand till November 30, officials said.A family member of a second student, who didn’t want to be named, also urged the authorities to drop the anti-terror charges against their kin, “Even if he has committed a wrong, charging him for terrorism is injustice. His career will be ruined. I beg the authorities to give him a second chance,” the family member said.According to officials at the university, three among those named in the FIR are orphans, “One of the students, Mohsin Farooq, returned from Thailand recently where he was sent on a three-month research trip for his exceptional academic achievements,” the official said.Advocate Shafeeq Bhat, who represents one of the accused students, said that they are preparing a legal defence, “They (students) are all nationalists like other students at the college. None of them has been indicted in any crime and most of them belong to economically backward sections of society,” he said.‘Jeeve Jeeve Pakistan’ created atmosphere of fear: FIRAccording to the FIR, a copy of which is with The Wire, Sachin told the police that the students shouted pro-Pakistan slogans such as ‘Jeeve Jeeve Pakistan’ which created an “atmosphere of fear” among the non-local students at the university.Superintendent of Police Nikhil Borkar Ganderbal told Scroll.in that “some sections are added or deleted depending upon the findings of the investigation.” “The investigation is on and whatever will be there, we will let you know at that time,” Borkar said.Disconcerting & shocking that cheering for a winning team too has been criminalised in Kashmir. Normalising slapping of draconian laws like UAPA on journalists, activists & now students reveals the ruthless mindset of the establishment towards youngsters in J&K. Hearts & minds of… https://t.co/GtOHr9KI7O— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 28, 2023This is not the first time that J&K police have invoked the draconian UAPA against people in Kashmir for hosting celebrations in the aftermath of cricket matches.In 2021, the police filed a case over the ‘celebration’ of Pakistan cricket team’s victory against India in the T20 World Cup in October 2021 at a police station in Srinagar under Sections 105 (A) and 505 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13 of the UAPA.The case was registered after some students and doctors, who were putting up in a hostel of Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, allegedly raised slogans and burst firecrackers to celebrate Pakistan’s victory in the cricket match.In October 2021, three Kashmiri students were booked in Agra of Uttar Pradesh under Sections 124-A (sedition), Section 153-A (enmity between communities), 505-(1) (B) (intent to cause fear or alarm to the public) of the Indian Penal Code and 66-F (cyber-terrorism) of the Information Technology Act.The UP Police had said that the students, who were enrolled at Raja Balwant Singh Engineering College under a centrally-sponsored scholarship scheme, had allegedly celebrated India’s loss to Pakistan in a T-20 cricket match and sent WhatsApp messages “against the country” after the match.In 2017, widespread celebrations had erupted in Kashmir parts after Pakistan defeated India in the Champions Trophy final at the Oval with the late Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Geelani and moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Omar Farooq congratulating the neighbouring country for clinching the title.In 2016, a fracas broke out at the prestigious National Institute of Technology involving Kashmiri and non-local students following India’s loss in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup to West Indies. Some Kashmiri students and a local courier boy were beaten up by non-local students.The incident had triggered protests at the institute with the non-local students demanding that the campus should be shifted out of Kashmir while their Kashmiri students were allegedly roughed up by police, prompting the authorities to shut down the institute for several days.