On Monday, October 31, a special NIA court in Bengaluru convicted a 21-year-old engineering student of ‘celebrating’ the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, in which over 40 CRPF jawans were killed, by posting insulting comments on Facebook.

Faiz Rasheed, the accused, commented on multiple Facebook posts by news outlets detailing the Pulwama incident. The remarks praised the attack, mocked the martyred soldiers, praised the terrorists, and warned Hindus of “things to come.”

The individual not only cheered the attack, but also mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officials. According to the story, he also shared a photo of the suicide bomber who carried out the heinous crime.

“He was neither an illiterate or an ordinary man,” the court said after the prosecution presented evidence. He was an engineering student at the time of the offence, and he made the remarks and comments on his Facebook account on purpose. He was pleased with the death of the noble souls and rejoiced in their demise. As a result, the accused’s crime is against this great nation and horrible in character.”

The court also stated that the accused’s actions endangered the country’s religious unity and were likely to disrupt public order. Furthermore, in ruling that the Section 153A offence was proven, the court observed how certain members of the Muslim community supported Rasheed’s  comments and some members of the Hindu community responded to his posts by making derogatory comments about Muslims.

“In his comments, the accused invokes the religious feelings of the Hindu community by bringing up the matter of Ram Mandir.” He has also stated that one Muslim is equal to 40 people . Furthermore, there is evidence that members of the Hindu community made insulting remarks in response to the accused’s remarks.”

As a result, extra city civil and sessions judge Gangadhara C.M., presiding over the NIA court, condemned the accused to five years in prison for violations of IPC Section 153A and UAPA Section 13.