Ayesha Sulthana quizzed by Lakshadweep police, let off

Filmmaker Ayesha Sulthana, facing allegations of sedition in Lakshadweep, was let off by the Lakshadweep police on Thursday after interrogation.

Sulthana was interrogated by the Kavaratti police on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday in connection with the case registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party leader in the Islands.

Emerging from the police station, Kavaratti, after nearly a three-hour long interrogation, Sulthana said, "Everything is over. I am told that I can go back to Kochi. I will reach Kochi tomorrow or a day after."

The allegation is that the filmmaker, while participating in a debate telecast by a Malayalam news channel on June 7, had said the Centre used biological weapons against the people of Lakshadweep.

Ahead of appearing for Thursday's probe, Sulthana said during the nearly eight-hour long questioning on Wednesday, the police had asked whether she had any contacts abroad.

"They checked my WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook accounts. They were searching whether I have any links with foreign countries," she said in a video circulated to the media.

Earlier on Sunday, she was questioned for three hours.

She appeared before the police after the Kerala high court granted her interim anticipatory bail for a week, while reserving orders on her advance bail plea.

It had directed her to comply with the notice issued by the Kavaratti police to appear before them for interrogation on June 20 in connection with the sedition case.