A Mumbai-based Islamic preacher, Mufti Salman Azhari, was arrested and sent to one-day police remand by a court in Junagadh, Gujarat, in connection with a ‘hate-speech’ case.
Salman Azhari was arrested in Mumbai on Sunday by Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad and later brought to Gujarat on transit remand.
The Junagadh Police presented Azhari before the court and requested for a 10-day remand to probe. The court is likely to declare its decision on the custody request shortly.
Police custody was granted until 4 pm on Wednesday by Chief Judicial Magistrate SA Pathan. One more FIR was filed in Samakhiali, Kutch district against Azhari in connection with a similar hate speech incident.
He is accused of delivering a provoking speech at a religious event in Junagadh on January 31, 2024. He also delivered a similar speech on the same day in Samakhiali. The FIR was filed against Azhari and two event organizers, Mohammad Yousuf Malek and Azim Habib Odedara as the video of the provoking speech went viral on social media.
Charges under Indian Penal Code sections 153B (promoting enmity between religious groups) and 505(2) (making statements conducive to public mischief) were applied.
Yousuf Malek, a Junagadh-based builder, took police permission for the event under the Al Azim Charitable Trust on January 31. Odedara serves as the trust’s president.
Yousuf Malek and Azim Habib Odedara were arrested on Saturday, while Azhari was apprehended the next day.
The Samakhiyali police have filed charges against Azhari and Mohammadkhan Mor, the president of Gulshane Muhammadi Trust, the organisation accountable for the event in Kutch.
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