Police record statement of student booked for sedition

A 22-year-old student-activist, against whom a case of sedition has been registered for allegedly shouting slogans in support of jailed JNU student Sharjeel Imam at an event here, on Wednesday appeared before the police, who recorded her statement, an official said.

Urvashi Chudawala, a student of the city-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) appeared before the Azad Maidan police station in South Mumbai.

Chudawala had participated in a rally organised by the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Queer (LGBTQ) community at Azad Maidan on February 1.

Police allege that during the rally, she had shouted the slogan "Sharjeel tere sapno ko hum manzil tak pahuchaenge" (Sharjeel, we will realise your dreams).

Sharjeel Imam, a PhD student of JNU was arrested in a sedition case lodged across several states for alleged "inflammatory" speeches made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

The Azad Maidan police had registered a case of sedition against Chudawala under IPC section 124 A.

The Bombay High Court had on Tuesday granted interim protection from arrest to her. It had directed her to appear before the Azad Maidan police on February 12 and 13 for three hours in the morning and thereafter as and when required by them for questioning.

"As per the court orders, Chudawala came to the Azad Maidan police station. She was there for over three hours, during which the police recorded her statement," the official said.

"The process of recording her statement will continue on Thursday when she appears before the police again," he added.

According to the official, her phone will also be recovered on Thursday as part of the probe.