Children at the Shaheen Primary and High School in Karnataka’s Bidar district got mired into an unnecessary question and answer class, not with the teacher but police as it questioned around 60 students. It was  in news recently as a sedition case was registered against the school for allegedly allowing students to stage an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) play.

A few days later, school’s headmistress and a student’s mother was arrested for alleged involvement in staging of the play.

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Bidar police on Saturday questioned students for around 4 hours. Aged between 9 to 12 years, police asked them if they participated in the play and if the school is spreading misinformation on CAA and NRC.

“They are kept out of the class for four to five hours regularly. The Deputy Superintendent of Police will come around 1 pm. They will question the children till 4 O’clock. This is what has been happening for the last 4 days. We don’t know why they have put sedition section on is. It is beyond the imagination of any reasonable person,” NDTV quoted the school’s CEO Thouseef Madikeri as saying.

Last week, police had registered a sedition case against the school in for allegedly allowing students to stage an anti-CAA, NRC play, portraying Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poor light. The case was registered on a complaint from social worker Neelesh Rakshyal on January 26, police said.

The video of the drama too had gone viral showing students enacting the play. A local resident who was part of the audience uploaded a video of the function on his Facebook page, the complainant said.

Rakshyal had alleged that that the school authorities ‘used’ the students to perform a drama on January 21, where they “abused” PM Modi for introducing the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.

The management of Shaheen School was also booked for “promoting enmity between different groups” under Sections 124(A) and 153(A) of the Indian Penal Code.

“The management tried to create fear among the Muslims that they would have to leave the country if the CAA and NRC are implemented,” Rakshyal said.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) BJP’s student wing also jumped in and protested against the school and also a memorandum was sent to the Home Minister.

According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

The opposition parties have termed the legislation as “unconstitutional” which “is aimed at diverting attention from the burning issues of the common people”.

Those opposing the amended law say it discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. They also allege that the CAA, along with the proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC), is intended to target India’s Muslim community.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government has dismissed the allegations, maintaining that the law is intended to give citizenship to the persecuted people from the three neighbouring countries and not take away citizenship from anyone.