After Outrage, Police File Case On Haridwar Hate Speech. One Person Named
NDTV
Filed four days after the event, the First Information Report names just one person. No arrest has been made in the matter.
A case has been registered in connection to the hate speeches at a religious conclave in Haridwar after outrage and condemnation on social media over the open calls for genocide and use of weapons against Muslims. Filed four days after the event, the First Information Report names just one person -- a Muslim who recently converted into Hinduism. No arrest has been made in the matter.
Clips from the event -- held from December 17 to 20 -- were circulated on social media and drew sharp criticism from former military chiefs, activists and even international tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
The police had initially claimed that no FIR was filed as there was no complaint. "The police are monitoring the situation," said Haridwar Superintendent of Police Swatantra Kumar Singh had said when asked about the videos doing the rounds.
The First Information Report -- filed after a complaint by Trinamool Congress leader and RTI activist Saket Gokhale -- names one Jitender Narayan, alias Waseem Rizvi, who was earlier the chairman of Shia Waqf board of Uttar Pradesh. The FIR says he and others have given "derogatory and inflammatory statement against Islam" at the conclave.
