Sedition charges have been slapped against 111 people for allegedly raising anti-national slogans during the victory march of a Congress candidate in Lakhimpur Kheri who had defeated her BJP rival at the recently concluded civic bodies poll in UP.

The FIR, which was filed on the complaint of BJP candidate Sushma Shukla's son, came after Congress candidate Sana Khan won the election for Dhaurhara nagar panchayat and took out a victory procession on Friday. In the report to police, it was stated that it was there that a man raised such slogans.

Sana Khan refuted the charges and denied such a thing had happened. She told TOI, "Leaders of the ruling party have used their power to file an FIR against our supporters. I have also seen the video and it looks like the person who was making the video was the one shouting anti-national slogans. I have asked police and SDM to conduct an impartial investigation and take action against the culprits."

She added, "My husband and I were fortunate that we returned home under police protection after the counting was complete, otherwise our names could have been included in the FIR. This is an act of political vendetta." Sedition is a non-bailable offence, for which somebody, if convicted, can be punished with a jail term of three years with fine or even a life term along with fine.