Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from the city’s Goshamahal assembly constituency T. Raja Singh was arrested here on Tuesday for allegedly making a statement to hurt religious sentiments, which was produced in a court later in the day. However, the court rejected the police’s remand application for not following due process in arrest and ordered immediate release of the MLA.
The issue for Mr. Raja Singh was that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government had allowed stand-up comic Munawwar Farooqui to do a show in Hyderabad. Ahead of the scheduled show on Saturday, the firebrand leader had warned the organisers, police and the government that there would be severe backlash if the show was allowed.
“How will you invite and allow a person who insults Hindu deities to perform here? We will burn the venue. If you still go ahead, you will see the response on August 22,” he had said.
With the intention of maintaining law and order, several hundred police personnel guarded the venue, detained some BJP workers and ensured that the show ended peacefully.
Slamming Mr. Farooqui, as said earlier, Mr. Raja Singh uploaded a video to YouTube “as a reaction to the show’s permission” on Monday through ‘Sri Ram Channel Telangana’.
protests and complaints
The video which immediately went viral sparked passion and within hours thousands of angry Muslims gathered at midnight outside several police stations, the Police Commissioner’s office, and protested demanding the immediate arrest of Mr. Raja Singh.
Several shops and business establishments remained closed in the old city of Hyderabad on Tuesday to protest against the objectionable remarks made against Prophet Muhammad by BJP MLA T Raja Singh. , photo credit: Nagra Gopal
Expressing solidarity, complaints were filed at various police stations in and outside Hyderabad and businesses remained closed for the day in some parts of the old city.
According to the First Information Report filed at Mangalhat police station, a complainant had said that the MLA had committed blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad and his way of life. The 10-minute video contained comments ridiculing the holy book, the dress of the community, among other details.
Based on the video, Mangalhat police initially made various charges under the IPC – promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing prejudicial acts to maintain harmony (153a(a)(b)), Intentional and malicious acts outraging religious sentiments (295A), intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace (504), statements promoting enmity (505(2)), and punishment for criminal intimidation (506).
On Tuesday, heavy police force surrounded Mr. Raja Singh’s house to arrest him. Even as his supporters protested in a tense situation, he was removed in a police SUV and reportedly shifted to a police station on the outskirts of the city.
Video message before arrest
Mr. Raja Singh, who came to know about the cases being registered against him and the police preparing for his arrest, released a video and said that he did not say anything wrong.
“Have I taken the name of any god in the video, or have I even referred to him in some code, as in Farooqui’s obscene mockery of Lord Shri Ram and Seetham? My counter in that video was in the same language as that of Farooqui. The ruling TRS is suppressing the voice of BJP, I am only fighting for my faith. First righteousNext Politics,” he said, adding that the said video was taken down by YouTube and that he would soon release another part of it as well.
Tension and lathi charge outside court
High tension prevailed outside the criminal court premises in Nampally, where the police took the MLA to produce him before a magistrate. Hundreds of people, both from the majority and minority communities, started shouting slogans to each other on both sides of the road, shouting Jai Shri Ram and Allahu Akbar.
The police resorted to lathi charge to disperse the accused workers as their crying did not subside.
Court rejects judicial remand, orders for release
Even as the police were making arrangements in anticipation of Mr. Raja Singh’s remand by the magistrate, a new turn of events changed the way things ended that day.
XIV The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (for the trial of communal disturbances) returned the remand application filed by Mangalhat Police for violation of the prescribed procedure. The court also ordered the police to immediately release Mr. Raja Singh.
The court passed the order after hearing the arguments of the government’s lawyers and the legislator’s counsel. Mr Singh’s counsel Karuna Sagar argued that the police had violated Section 41 (A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
He argued that the investigating officer is bound to comply with the section in any offense punishable with imprisonment for seven years or less. He said that the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v State of Bihar had laid down the guidelines for the enforcement of this section and it was violated by Mangalhat Police.
Mr. Sagar said that the video through which the MLA has been accused of making inflammatory remarks is a matter for hearing.
Greeted by activists and leaders, Mr. Raja Singh was seen leaving the court premises with a smile.