AGRA: Families of three civil engineering students from Kashmir who were arrested in Agra and booked under charges of sedition for allegedly cheering Pakistan’s win in the T-20 cricket match against India have appealed to the authorities to “show mercy” and not take away their sons’ “only chance at education and better lives”.
The three pupils belong to humble backgrounds and were studying on a special PM scholarship for J&K students at Raja Balwant Singh (RBS) Engineering Technical Institute in Agra. All of them are first-generation college students with hopes and aspirations of their families pinned on them.
“If my nephew has done anything wrong, please forgive him. We are very poor. We can’t do anything except apologise,” said the uncle of the 21-year-old student who is in his final year of civil engineering. The relative said the family had just celebrated the boy’s placement at an MNC. The student’s father, a farm labourer in Bandipora in north Kashmir, told TOI that he last spoke to his son on Wednesday and was left numb at the turn of events. “He was crying on the phone. He said, ‘Baba (father), we do not understand what we will do…”
The 56-year-old said the authorities should give the students “a chance to correct their mistake”. “He has been studying in Agra since 2017 and has not been involved in any anti-national activity. He was often praised by his teachers. He had got placed in a big company and our future was secured,” he said, adding that the family won’t be able to afford legal fees. “The boy’s sister, an ophthalmic assistant, said it was “shocking” that a cricket match had ruined her brother’s career.
The families also said they have been trying to reach UP police for information on their kin. Uncle of one of the arrested students, who is a J&K police officer, said he tried to get information about the 20-year-old from his counterparts in UP, but to no avail. “My nephew has two younger sisters to take care of since his father passed away several years ago. The family in Budgam had high hopes for him. We regret whatever happened. I urge PM Narendra Modi to give him a chance.”
The father of the third student — a 20-year-old in his third year — said he doesn’t know where to go to get his son released. “I managed to speak to him after his suspension via his classmate and he seemed very scared. But I’m helpless,” said the father, a carpenter.
College records show the students to be first division holders in class 12 who were “performing well” in college. The fate of the scholarship that funded the students also hangs in balance now. Director (administration) Pankaj Gupta told TOI that a report on the matter has been sent to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). “Further action will be taken according to the directions we receive,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS) is given to meritorious class 12 students from Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh. All three students funded under the scheme were getting Rs 1.22 lakh annually by AICTE to cover tuition, hostel and mess charges. The scheme has an upper limit of Rs 1.25 lakh. In the RBS Engineering Technical Institute campus in Agra, the scholarship is funding 11 Kashmiri students at present.
