Meerut/Srinagar: The 67 Kashmiri students who were expelled from a private university here after being slapped with sedition charges for allegedly cheering the Pakistan cricket team can only get readmission after they are cleared of the charges in the probe, the university officials said Monday.
Prof Manzoor Ahmed, vice-chancellor of Meerut’s Swami Vivekanand Subharti University (SVSU) told PTI that they will take a decision in this regard only after getting the report of the probe which is being conducted by a committee constituted by the varsity.
“Even if students get declared innocent by the probe committee, they along with their guardians will have to produce an affidavit mentioning they will not indulge in any such act in future,” Ahmed said.
Ahmed also refuted the media reports that the committee will go to Jammu and Kashmir to record the students’ statements.
Incidentally, J&K’s ruling National Conference had claimed on Saturday last that the suspension order of the students had been revoked.  “The issue of suspended students now stands resolved at all fronts due to round-the-clock, personal intervention and monitoring by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The university is now finalizing the date and schedules to re-admit all 67 students who were suspended. The process of their return to campus will commence within three weeks or so,” NC leader Junaid Azim Mattu had said in a statement. [When contacted by Kashmir Reader, Mattu reiterated that SVSU has given assurance about re-admitting the students].
Meerut District Magistrate Pankaj Yadav told PTI that in response to the Election Commission’s order related to sedition charges, a police report has been sent to it.
He said a magisterial probe into the matter was still going on.
The Election Commission, on BJP’s complaint, had sought a report from the Meerut district administration in connection with the dropping of sedition charges against the students.
UP government had slapped the sedition charges against the 67 students for allegedly cheering Pakistan during the cricket match on March 2.
However, the charges were withdrawn following an outrage in Kashmir Valley and outside and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s appeal to his UP counterpart Akhilesh Yadav. (with PTI inputs)

Reader correspondent