Teachers and students of Indian Institute of Technology undertook a candlelight march in New Delhi on Tuesday to demand the release of Vikram Buddhi, an IIT alumni who is in a US Federal jail since 2006 for allegedly posting anti-Bush remarks on a website.
The students raised slogans and demanded that Buddhi be released immediately. About 100 students and teachers participated in the protest march that continued for an hour, a student said. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has assured the family of Buddhi that a fair trial has to be given to him and the Indian mission will take due care in this case.
Buddhi, a PhD student at the Purdue University, was arrested in April 2006 after being charged for posting anti-Bush remarks on a web site. Buddhi's father, a former Navy captain, and several IIT alumni have been fighting a legal battle to secure his release. The indictment alleged that Buddhi made threats against the then US President, Vice President Dick Cheney and their wives and called for bombings of American infrastructure.