Image Courtesy:businessworld.in
A Delhi Court has questioned the Jamia Nagar Police, Delhi, for allegedly refusing to file FIRs against Dasna temple priest Yati Narsinghanand and Karni Sena Chief Suraj Pal Amu.
Faisal Ahmed Khan, a Law professor, had filed two complaints against them for anti-Muslim communal speeches made by both these right wing leaders on separate occasion. However, even after three days, the police did not register FIRs against either of these hate offenders.
Khan, thus, approached Saket district court on August 7 seeking directions to the police to register the FIRs. Khan sought two separate FIRs, and for both to be charged under sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 298 (uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 505-1 (whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report), 505-2 (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, reported The Wire.
When the case came up for hearing, Metropolitan Magistrate Rajat Goyal directed the Station House Officer (SHO) of Jamia Nagar Police station, Delhi to file an Action Taken Report (ATR) in both cases.
The Court has posed the following questions for the police to answer in both cases:
1. Whether any complaint has been made by the complainant in the police station
2. If yes, whether any action has been taken on the said complaint
3. Whether any investigation or inquiry has been conducted in this regard and if yes, then what is the status of the investigation/inquiry
4. If any cognisable offence is made out, whether any FIR has been registered or not
The court has given the SHO time till September 27 to file the report.
Interestingly, Satish Kumar, Jamia Nagar Police Station SHO, told The Wire said that the “two matters were not of Jamia Nagar jurisdiction.”
Complaint against Yati Narsinghanand
Khan has complained against the statement made by Narsinghanand, in which he alleged that students of certain educational institutions, including Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Jamia Millia Islamia and Darul Uloom Deoband, cannot bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India or uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Khan’s application to the Magistrate states that Narsinghanand, also President of Akhil Bharatiya Sant Parishad, called for a total boycott of Muslims and their religious texts and establishing a nation free/devoid of Islam or anything associated with it.
SabrangIndia’s sister organisation, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) has previously approached different authorities like the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy), National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) against Narsinghanand’s actions. Recently, the NHRC has also registered a case against Narsinghanand for his hate speech against Islam made in April this year, on the complaint filed by Haji Mohd. Sameer Boghani, president of the Madariya Sufi Foundation.
Narsinghanand has been a notorious saffron-clad hate monger who has become too brazen for even BJP’s comfort. In July, he uploaded a video on his Facebook account threatening to destroy all mosques in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. He says in the video, “Agar kissi mandir ko hilane ki koshish jihaadiyo ne ki, toh uska itna tagra jawaab denge jiski koi had nahi.” (Translation: If any Islamic militant attempts to destroy our temples, we will respond in a manner that has no limits.)
In March, CJP wrote to MEITY and Ministry of Minority Affairs (MMA) against his speeches where he continues to appeal to all Hindus to protect their Dharam (religion), daughters and women as there is a Muslim “jihadi” everywhere, who is killing Hindus in every region of the world. In his video he has claimed that the purpose Jihad is to kill a kaafir (non-believer) or a non-Muslim, and to take control of a non-Muslim man’s wife and property and also that Jihad is a synonym of ‘cancer’ which needs to be ‘operated’ or surgically removed, insinuating that Jihad needs to be destroyed worldwide as it is the most ‘dangerous thing’.
The Magistrate Court order in the Yati Narsinghanand case may be read here:
Complaint against Suraj Pal Amu
The complaint against Amu is for the speech he made at a Mahapanchayat attended by 50,000 people held in Indri, Nuh Haryana on May 30. The speech by Amu quoted in Khan’s application reads, “Those who are real Hindus please raise your hands. If there are any children of Pakistanis sitting here, they may also raise their hands. ‘Asif was killed by Patwari, Advani’…He was neither murdered by Patwari, nor by Advani. If he has been murdered, it is because of his deeds, dare to say this. We are not guilty, our boys are not guilty. They make nude photos/ videos of our sisters and daughters and we cannot even murder them?” Patwari and Advani mentioned here are persons accused in the Asif Khan lynching case, who was killed in Mewat. In Another Mahapanchayat held in Pataudi, five weeks later, Amu urged the crowd to destroy mosques and stop every attempt that is made at building mosques, states the application.
Promotional flyers for the event in Pataudi described it as a Mahapanchayat against “recent increase in cases of love jihad, market jihad, land jihad and religious conversions in the villages surrounding Pataudi,” with a focus on the subject of “love jihad”, the allegations that Muslim men lure Hindu women away from their families and forcefully convert them to Islam, reported NDTV.
“They (Muslims) cut their moustaches, we can cut throats… We will pick them (Muslims) off one by one (chun chun ke thokenge),” Amu reportedly said in his speech at Pataudi mahapanchayat. “Agar Bharat hamaari maata hai, toh Pakistan ke hum baap hain, aur ye Pakistani… ko hum yahan ke gharon mein kiraye par makan nahin denge… In…ko is desh se nikaalo, yeh prastaav paas karo (If India is our mother, then we are the father of Pakistan, and we will not give houses here on rent to the Pakistanis… Remove them from this country, pass this proposal),” he added.
When Varun Singla, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Manesar, was questioned why the police had not lodged a complaint against Amu and event organisers for the inflammatory speech, he said no action can be taken since no complaint was filed, reported NDTV. This, despite hundreds of policemen present at the event and police can by themselves take cognisance of cognisable offences and lodge an FIR.
Amu, after making the speech, appears to have been rewarded when he was appointed spokesperson for BJP Haryana.
The Magistrate Court order in the Suraj Pal Amu case may be read here:
Related:
CJP approaches MEITy and Minority Affairs Ministry against Yati Narsinghanand
Yati Narsinghanand continues to spread hate
CJP approaches NCM against Vikas Sehrawat for his abusive statements against Muslims
UP: Right wing outfit Kranti Sena conducts drive to ban Muslim Mehendi artists and barbers