Despite government leaders like Aaditya Thackeray and Jayant Patil standing by her, Mehak Mirza Prabhu slapped with 'anti-national' case; just who do Mumbai cops take their orders from?
Prabhu with the poster at the protest on Monday
The Colaba police have filed an FIR against Mehak Mirza Prabhu under section 153 (B) (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) of IPC, for holding a 'Free Kashmir' banner during the protest at the Gateway of India on Monday. Reacting to the FIR registered against her, Prabhu told mid-day, "I am really shocked. The issue has been blown out of proportion."
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Prabhu, a storyteller and writer based in the city, has said that she meant to ask for freedom for Kashmiris to express themselves, freedom from the Internet lockdown and didn't mean it should be freed from India. While she apologised for holding the placard, speaking exclusively to mid-day she said, "I wasn't shouting any slogans at all. In fact, I was holding a flower and talking to people about the Internet ban being wrong and that we should extend a hand of peace. To create an entire twitter campaign out of this and put out a completely different narrative, is worrying. No one asked me for my explanation before doing that, and plastered my face all over the Internet, making it unsafe for me."
Mehak Mirza Prabhu
She issued a video statement on her Facebook page saying, "The social media picture painted of me came as a shock. I was voicing my solidarity with Kashmiri people, demanding basic constitutional rights. If by being naive in understanding the process I have created a stir, I apologise. I am just an artist."
'Picked up poster lying around'
Prabhu, who said she is a Maharashtrian born and brought up in Mumbai, saw some posters lying in the protest area, and picked up one saying 'Free Kashmir.' Prabhu said it has been the legitimate demand of many people that the Internet lockdown in Kashmir must end. "It's been 5 months. No other place in India has gone through such a restriction for such a long duration. One of the demands at the protest was the removal of the ban on Internet wherever it has been imposed, so infact this placard should have been understood instead of the misinformation spread about it."
Mehak Mirza Prabhu. Pic/Facebook
She added, "It also has come up that I have Kashmiri friends. I do. One of them is an artist, Mohammad Muneem, with whom I have collaborated on many projects. Dragging him into this is unfortunate. He was not even in Mumbai on the day in question. I simply feel compassionate about issues related to humanity and concerning constitutional freedoms, this was no different. I was not trying to make any political demand nor was there an agenda.
Former CM Devendra Fadnavis hit out at chief minister Uddhav Thackeray over the issue. He tweeted, "…Free Kashmir' slogans by Azadi gang at 2km from CMO? Uddhav ji are you going to tolerate this Free Kashmir Anti-India campaign right under your nose???"
In response, senior cabinet minister Jayant Patil said, "Devendraji it's 'Free Kashmir' from all discriminations, bans on cellular networks and central control. I can't believe that a responsible leader like you is trying to confuse people by decoding words in such a hatred way. Is it losing power or losing self-control?" Cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray said, "Nobody supports free Kashmir and she has also spoken about her intention. The students protesting against the violence don't support free Kashmir or anything like that."
'Immediate arrest not possible'
However, the Mumbai police have taken serious cognisance of the placard. "We have taken cognisance of the 'Free Kashmir' placard and an inquiry has been ordered. We will check CCTV footage to identify who brought the placard to the location," said Additional Commissioner of Police (south region) Nisheeth Mishra. A senior police officer said, "The woman (Mehak) had been holding the placard where the protestors were sloganeering against the Central government. While immediate arrest won't be possible, we have booked her and she will be questioned. Chances are very high that she will defend herself saying her demand was to free Kashmir from 'internet lockdown'. But we have booked her under the relevant section of IPC."
Sec 153B
Applies to 'imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration'
Five
No. of months internet lockdown is on in Kashmir
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