Madhya Pradesh state home minister Narottam Mishra announced on Friday, August 11, that an FIR has been filed against individuals who shouted “Sar tan se juda” (separate the head from the body) slogans while demonstrating in Ratlam in opposition to a controversial social media post.
Mishra called them “terrorist slogans” and assured that sections of the National Security Act (NSA) will be imposed upon the criminals after they get arrested.
Mishra further slammed the Congress party in opposition and said, “Madhya Pradesh is not Rajasthan, it is not the Congress but the BJP government. Those who raise such controversial slogans should be careful, otherwise, strict action will be taken.”
रतलाम में आतंकी नारे लगाने वालों को चिन्हित कर उनके खिलाफ एफआईआर दर्ज कर ली गई है। अपराधियों की जल्द गिरफ्तारी कर NSA की कार्रवाई की जाएगी।
— Dr Narottam Mishra (@drnarottammisra) August 11, 2023
मध्यप्रदेश राजस्थान नहीं है, यहां कांग्रेस की नहीं भाजपा की सरकार है। ऐसे विवादित नारे लगाने वाले संभल जाएं नहीं तो सख्त कार्रवाई की जाएगी। pic.twitter.com/GiEVbAu87j
Notably, a sizable group of enraged Muslims staged protests at a police chowki in Ratlam on Wednesday, August 9 night over allegedly offensive social media posts insulting Islam. The demonstrators called for severe punishment, including the residence of the unnamed girl who posted the objectionable content from her account being demolished.
Some of the protesters were also heard yelling controversial slogans, demanding the beheading of the alleged accused girl. On Thursday, August 10 several recordings of the demonstration went viral on social media, prompting the state authorities to respond.
On Wednesday, August 9, 2023, a mob of Islamists raised murderous slogans in front of the police post in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, during the night. This followed after a social media post about Islam offended the members of the Muslim community. The situation escalated rapidly, with a mob converging at the police post to raise ‘sar tan see juda’ slogans, which have earlier led Islamists to murder several non-Muslims on allegations of ‘blasphemy’.
The mob swelled in size within a short span, as Muslims demanded stringent action against the individual behind the post allegedly against Islam. As tensions heightened, the scene drew the attention of the police station in charge, along with officers from two police stations, and the CSP.
Meanwhile, Mishra also praised the state government and said that the court had in the first case of conviction under the anti-conversion law, awarded a 20-year-old man named Mohammad Sabir 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under 376(3) IPC and 5(L) and 6 of the POCSO Act and up to 7 years of jail and Rs 56,000 fine under sections 450 and 506 of the IPC.
“Whatever the BJP government says, it does! In the case of raping an innocent after forcibly converting her to another religion in Indore’s Hatod, the court convicted the accused and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment under the Freedom of Religion Act and various other sections,” he said.
As reported earlier, the accused was punished for forcing a Hindu girl into religious conversion.
