The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday questioned a cricketer who wore a helmet that appeared to have the Palestinian flag on it during a tournament in the Union Territory, reported The Indian Express.
The player, Furqan Bhat, had earlier in the day participated in the Jammu and Kashmir Champions League in the Jammu district, according to The Hindu.
The tournament was organised by Sajid Bhat, a Kashmir resident. He was also summoned to the Domana police station, reported The Indian Express.
After videos of the match were widely shared on social media, several persons demanded action against Furqan Bhat, The Hindu quoted an unidentified player as saying.
As of Thursday evening, no first information report had been registered in the matter, the newspaper quoted unidentified officers as saying.
The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association distanced itself from the tournament, saying that it was a privately organised event that “involves local players, and strangely, even spectators are not allowed”.
Brigadier Anil Gupta, the official in-charge of the association, said that the incident had been brought to their attention, but it was being handled by the police. “They will take necessary action because it is not under our jurisdiction,” The Indian Express quoted Gupta as saying.
The Bharatiya Janata Party also demanded action against Furqan Bhat, reported The Hindu.
“An unsavoury incident has come to the fore today where a local cricketer from Kashmir was seen wearing a Palestinian flag on his cricket helmet,” party MLA RS Pathania was quoted as saying.
He described the action as “a nasty attempt to use a cricket ground as a platform for promoting a subversive agenda” and alleged that it showed “absolute obliviousness to the Indian stance”.
India’s longstanding position has been to support a two-state solution for establishing a sovereign, viable and independent state of Palestine within recognised and mutually agreed borders, living side by side with Israel in peace.
Also read: India’s discernible shift away from Palestine
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