A transgender named Nanu Vishwas, who has more than one lakh followers on social media platforms, was arrested on the evening of June 5 (Saturday) on the charge of hurting religious sentiments. The arrest was made after the Vishwas shared a video on social media where he was seen dancing to the Bollywood song ‘Shukran Allah’ on the premises of a mosque in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
The video, which soon became viral on various social media platforms, enraged some people of the Muslim community, who thought the act to be outrageous. They accused the Bhopal transgender, Nanu Vishwas, of hurting the religious feelings of the Muslim community by adding the song ‘Shukran Allah’ in the video which was shot inside the Masjid.
The song ‘Shukran Allah’ from the Bollywood film ‘Kurbaan,’ starring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan, was released in 2009 and is mostly about praising and thanking Allah.
The Bhopal transgender social media user was arrested and charged with hurting religious feelings with deliberate and malicious intention under Section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code.
Notably, while moderate Muslims generally don’t object to music and dancing per se, many Islamic fundamentalists, like radical Muslim preacher Zakir Naik, view it as un-Islamic or haram.
Speaking about the arrest, Talaiya Inspector D P Singh said that the authorities of Moti Masjid had lodged a complaint, stating that the act of the transgender had hurt their religious feelings.
However, hours after the arrest, Nanu Vishwas was granted bail as the IPC section invoked against him carries a sentence lesser than seven years in jail if convicted in a court of law and in such a situation the accused cannot be kept in police custody for a long period of time.
Following the uproar, Nanu Vishwas pulled down the video and apologised to all his “Muslim brothers and sisters.”
Vishwas stated he didn’t want to offend anyone’s religious feelings. He said he went to Moti Masjid to inquire about the vaccine and shot the video inadvertently inside the premises. He expressed regret for his unintentional deed.
