Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested seven Kashmiri students of an agricultural university after a non-local student alleged harassment for supporting the Indian team during the cricket World Cup final on November 19.

A students’ body said the students have been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and have petitioned the government to drop “sedition charges” against them to save their future.

The arrests took place on November 20 but had been kept under wraps to prevent a flare-up.

A copy of the FIR shows the students have been booked under Section 13 of the UAPA and Sections 505 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code related to public mischief and criminal intimidation.

“They were arrested last week, the same day (when the complaint was lodged on November 20),” Ganderbal superintendent of police Nikhil Borkar told The Telegraph.

Borkar said the students were still under custody but did not divulge the charges under which they were booked.

“The case is under investigation,” he said.

The arrested seven are the students of a veterinary college in Ganderbal, which is part of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture and Sciences.

The FIR says the complaint was lodged against them by a fellow student from Punjab.

In his complaint, the non-local student named the seven students who allegedly abused him, raised pro-Pakistan slogans and threatened to shoot him for supporting India during the match.

A university official said there was no violence on the campus and said the complainant had submitted a video to the police in which some students were raising slogans in the dark.

He said they were fourth-year students who were on the verge of completing their degrees.

Kashmiris have traditionally supported Pakistan in matches against India but the government has displayed zero tolerance for such actions following the 2019 scrapping of the special status.