Arrests – Others

The Kozhikode Town Police in Kerala on Sunday, 7 January, arrested six students of Farook College in Kozhikode for allegedly sticking pro-Palestine posters at a Starbucks outlet in the city. They were released on bail on the same day, the police said.

What happened? The students were members of the student organisation, Fraternity Movement. They had put up posters that read ‘Free Palestine’, ‘Ceasefire now’, and ‘Caution: Contents may fund genocide’.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered based on a complaint by the store manager of the Starbucks outlet under Sections 448 (trespassing), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot), 427 (causing damage), and 34 (crime committed with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, as per the police.