Seven Hindu Extremist Men Arrested For Throwing Pork, Torn Pages Of Holy Quran At Mosques In Uttar Pradesh City
Seven people were arrested after they allegedly threw pork, letters abusing Muslims, and torn pages of an Islamic text at mosques in an attempt to instigate communal violence in Ayodhya, a holy city in Uttar Pradesh, police said on Thursday.
The arrested belong to an outfit called the ‘Hindu Yodha Sangathan’, and the leader of the group is a known criminal with four criminal cases registered against him, they said. Four First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered.
“It was an attempt to create communal violence and incite riots in Ayodhya,” a statement from the police said. Four other extremists involved are absconding.
Those arrested include the outfit’s leader Mahesh Mishra, Pratyush Kumar, Nitin Kumar, Deepak Gaud, Brajesh Pandey, Shatrughan and Vimal Pandey.
The accused have been booked under relevant sections of the IPC, including 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), the police said.
Uttar Pradesh Police Illegally Raze Islamic Seminary During Ramadan
The bulldozer politics of the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that rules Uttar Pradesh continues to wreak havoc on Muslims. The latest victim of the destructive politics is Jamia Ashrafiya, an Islamic seminary – madrasa – in the state’s Azamgarh district.
The administration in Mubarakpur, on Monday, bulldozed a 30-year-old building of the Jamia Ashrafiya’s teacher colony at a time when the institution is closed due to Ramadan. The seminary denied the allegation that the teacher colony was built on government land.
A district official came along with a large number of security forces and razed the building with belongings of teachers and their families locked inside. The action has created ruckus in the area.
According to local news websites, Haji Sarfraz Ahmed, the vice-chancellor of the madrasa, was in Varanasi, a nearby district, when he learnt of the demolition.
He then pleaded with the official to stay the demolition drive for a day. But the officials refused to oblige him. When a flat of the building was being knocked down, a madrasa official, Shamim Ahmed, who lived in it, was not given time to take out his belongings.
A large number of people gathered and raised objections to the move even as the bulldozer was on the job. It eventually stopped when the administration intervened on an appeal by the local people through a joint letter. The administration stayed the demolition till the madrasa authorities returned from vacation.
Maulana Muddassir Ashrafi, National President of Muslim Students Organization (MSO), said “bulldozer politics” was killing justice in Uttar Pradesh, adding that the building was razed without serving any notice and when the matter was sub-judice. “This is unacceptable,” he added.
Supreme Court Forces Uttarakhand State To Clamp Down On Hindu Extremist Event
After Supreme Court’s warning, police in Uttarakhand came into action and thwarted a controversial Dharam Sansad (religious gathering) scheduled to be held in Jalalpur village of Roorkee by imposing section 144 and detaining the organizers.
On Tuesday, The Supreme Court expressed concern at state governments for not doing enough to prevent hate speeches while grilling the Uttarakhand government on the proposed Dharam Sansad in Roorkee.
“We direct the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand to state the corrective measures taken by the authorities before the next date of hearing,” the court said.
Following the court order, the administration in Roorkee enforced section 144 in the village where the event was to take place and detained 33 people associated with the event.
“Those detained include Kali Sena’s state convenor Dineshanand Bharti who had given a call for holding the event and his six supporters,” Senior Superintendent of Police Yogendra Singh Rawat was quoted by NDTV as saying.
Swami Anand Swaroop, one of the organisers of Dharam Sansad, reached Roorkee for the event even though section 144 was in force and a large number of security forces were deployed. He said he was put under house arrest in Roorkee.
Swami Dishanand Bharti, who is also among the organizers, was arrested by the police.
Reacting to the police action, Swaroop claimed that the police are taking action against them under the pressure from Muslim community.
