On February 16, 2022, the Allahabad High Court granted bail to Javed Mohammad, the alleged mastermind of the violence on June 10, 2022, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh in the case filed at Khuldabad Police Station.
Without commenting on the case’s merits, the single-judge bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot issued the ruling on the plea moved by Javed Mohammad.
The bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot noted that the state counsels could not refute the arguments made by the lawyers of Javed Mohammad ‘Pump’ satisfactorily.
Notably, a case was filed against Javed Mohammad at Khuldabad Police Station under Sections143, 144, 145, 147, 148, 149, 153-A, 153-B, 295-A, 201, 511, 307, 332, 333, 353, 395, 435, 436, 427, 504, 505(2), 506, 120-B IPC, Section 4/5 of the Explosive Substance Act and Section 7 of Criminal Law Amendment Act, Section 83 of the Juvenile Justice Act, Section 3/4 of the Public Property Damages Act and Section 3 of the Explosive Substance Act after a mob allegedly led by Javed carried out violent ‘protests’ against the now-suspended Bhartiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her alleged offensive remarks against Prophet Mohammed.
On the day of the incident, Javed Mohammed gathered a crowd after Jummah namaz. A crowd comprising over 200 people hurled stones, and petrol bombs, vandalized public property and set vehicles on fire. During the mob violence, three police personnel were also injured.
Mohammed’s lawyer requested bail in this matter, claiming that Mohammed is a law-abiding citizen who has never posted or would ever post any remarks that disturb social harmony.
Javed Mohammad’s counsel said that because he had challenged some strong political interests, he had been used as a scapegoat in the case.
The defense attorney further argued that there was no solid proof that Muhammad had incited the mob or committed violent crimes.
He underlined that Javed Mohammad’s conviction that Allahabad is a city of peace was highlighted by the Facebook post, which the prosecution had cited, and that Mohammad had just requested some biased media anchors to not to disrupt the city’s peace.
Furthermore, the lawyer contended that Mohammad could not be regarded as a media influencer because he did not have a sizable following that would gather at his command.
In order to obtain parity with other accused individuals in the case who had been given bail, Javed Mohammad’s lawyer requested that he be granted bail.
Subsequently, the court granted bail to Javed in exchange for a personal bond and two sureties, each in an amount equal to the bond, that satisfied the court below.
The High Court Bench also laid certain conditions in the ‘interest of justice’.
Among these conditions is that the applicant will not tamper with the evidence or sway any witnesses during the trial. Unless personal appearance is exempted, the applicant will appear before the trial court on the scheduled date. As he has already agreed, the petitioner must refrain from posting any statements or messages that disturb social harmony or national unity.
In January this year, Javed Mohammad was granted bail in the case filed at the Kareli Police Station in relation to the aforementioned violence.
Javed and others had allegedly instigated youths to throw stones at the police and the authorities. It was reported back then that he used small kids as shields for the rioters. The incident occurred in the Atala Police Station region of the Prayagraj district’s Kareli Police Station.
Notably, on June 12, 2022, the illegal house of Javed Ahmed, the architect of the violence in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, was bulldozed. The cops discovered illicit firearms in the residence during the demolition. Two pistols were retrieved from the residence by police. The two weapons are a 12-bore pistol and a 315-bore pistol. Aside from that, the accused kept other cartridges hidden in his home. In addition to the weapons and ammo, various offensive documents and posters were discovered on the premises.
