New Delhi – Madhya Pradesh police have arrested fifteen Indian Muslim men for allegedly cheering on the Pakistan cricket team and celebrating victory against India in the Champions Trophy cricket final in the state’s Burhanpur district, a local Indian newspaper reported They were charged with sedition – punishable by life in prison.
The men, aged 19 to 35, were arrested after locals complained that they shouted pro-Pakistan slogans and lit firecrackers after the match ended on Sunday night.
Local police chief Raja Ram Parihar told the AFP news agency they were arrested after “a complaint from a local Hindu man who accused them of celebrating after India lost the match”.
The officer said they had also been charged with criminal conspiracy after the celebrations continued for hours. The locality where the incident took place has a 60 percent Muslim population.
The men were presented before a court on Tuesday and sent to jail pending trial.
In India, sedition is an offence which may result in the surrender of passports, ineligibility for government jobs, and even life imprisonment.
