Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir have arrested seven students under a tough terror law for allegedly celebrating India’s loss in the Cricket World Cup finals earlier this month, sparking strong criticism.

The Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) students were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a law viewed as draconian by several rights groups.

The law, which makes bail almost impossible, has been used by India’s Hindu nationalist government largely against political dissidents and Muslim activists.

A senior police official in Indian-administered Kashmir told Al Jazeera that an encounter occurred between the accused and some non-local students on November 19 while they were watching a television broadcast of India versus Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium played in the western state of Gujarat.

Australia Beat India won the sixth ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup by six wickets for a record-breaking victory, ending India’s hopes of a third victory after 1983 and 2011.

“A non-resident student filed a written complaint naming the seven Kashmiri students for abusing and threatening him and raising pro-Pakistan slogans. Based on the complaint, the case was registered under UAPA,” he said.

The non-resident students at SKUAST’s Shuhama campus in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district claim that the seven Kashmiri students raised anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans after India lost the match.

“After they finished the game [students] “Started insulting and targeting me because I am a supporter of our country,” said the complaint from the 20-year-old student, who was not identified by police.

The seven students were charged with Section 13 of the UAPA, which deals with advocating, abetting or inciting any unlawful activity, and Sections 505 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with intent to incite offenses against any other class or community and criminal intimidation.

As the filing of terrorism charges in a sports case was criticized, police issued a statement on Tuesday defending their actions.

“It’s not about disagreement or freedom of expression. It is about terrorizing others who may harbor pro-India or anti-Pakistan sentiments,” the statement said.

A SKUAST official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Al Jazeera that the non-resident students had not complained to the university administration and had contacted the police directly.

“If the students had approached us, we could have settled the matter internally. “We have not received the complaint,” he said.

The officer said the arrested students were in their early 20s and were studying for fourth year of Bachelor of Veterinary Science.

“Even if our children made a mistake out of emotional stupidity, the harsh charges against them should be dropped. This will ruin her life. We call on the government to save their future,” a relative of one of the students told Al Jazeera.

The relative did not want to be named for fear of reprisals from the government.

It is not the first time that students from Kashmir have been charged in a case related to cricket, a hugely popular game in the subcontinent. India and Pakistan, which both claim the entire Himalayan region of Kashmir but rule over parts of it, are also arch-cricket rivals.

In October 2021, police in Indian-administered Kashmir filed criminal cases under the same UAPA law against some students of two medical colleges supposedly celebrating Pakistan’s victory against India in the Twenty20 World Cup. The charges were later dropped.

In another incident during the 2014 Asia Cup tournament, nearly 60 Kashmiri students were suspended from a college in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh after they allegedly celebrated Pakistan’s victory over India.

Anti-India sentiments in Indian-administered Kashmir have intensified since 2019, when New Delhi unilaterally gave up its partial autonomy and brought the region under its direct control.

In a statement, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, a local student body, said the students booked under UAPA are from poor families. It called for the charges against her to be dropped.

“The charges against UAPA should be withdrawn as this punishment could ruin their future,” the association said.

Mehbooba Mufti, the region’s last elected chief minister, said the case against the students was “disturbing and shocking”.

“Normalizing the application of laws like UAPA to journalists, activists and now students shows the establishment’s reckless mindset towards youth.” [Kashmir]” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.