On Wednesday, August 23, the Mumbai Police arrested one person identified as Sahil for posting an objectionable video threatening to bring Islamic rule back to India. The accused, a resident of Mumbai, posted a video on Instagram that indicated that the Islamists were preparing to get Islamic rule in India. The video also hailed Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and Islamic invader Tipu Sultan.
The 18-year-old arrested accused however reposted the video that was created by an Islamist video creator from Bihar named Danish. The Police have filed an FIR u/s 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
Team OpIndia accessed the FIR copy of the case in which it has been mentioned that the arrested accused reposted the derogatory video made by Danish on Instagram. The video contains images of Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan and it said, “Do not assume that we are gone. We will come back and bring back the same old time.”
The complaint filed by one VHP leader identified as Nagnath Kamble said that the video was intended to spread enmity between the two religions. “One of our members saw this video posted by Sahil. The video was posted with the intention of disturbing communal harmony. Later we found out that the video was made by some Danish. This video is not less than a threat and it has hurt our religious sentiments,” the FIR read.
18-year-old accused Sahil arrested confirms Police
Accordingly, the Police have booked a case against both the accused. Team OpIndia talked to API Babar of Bhayandar Police Station where the FIR has been lodged. The police confirmed the case and stated that one of the accused identified as Sahil had been arrested by the team.
“We have arrested 18-year-old youth Sahil from Bhayandar and produced him before the Court on Wednesday. We have got two days of custody and there is one more person who has shared the post on Instagram. We have shared the relevant account details with the cyber cell and trying to locate the person,” the police said.
Complainant Kamble says the intentions of the video were to disturb communal harmony
Team OpIndia also talked to Nagnath Kamble who filed the FIR in the case. He revealed that the incident came to the fore during a VHP meeting in Mumbai. “One of our members saw the derogatory video. And upon further checking we found out that it was created by some Danish who is not from Maharashtra,” Kamble said.
He also added that similar incidents have happened in the past in the state of Maharashtra and this should stop. “Videos like these intend to spread hatred and this is dangerous. The police have arrested one named Sahil. The other one is being probed,” he added.
Video created by Danish garners 2 lakh views, 2k comments
The video continues to appear on the Instagram account of Danish (91k followers), as confirmed by OpIndia. The said video was posted by Danish on August 21 and garnered around 29,000 likes and more than 2,000 comments. The video has been viewed and played by more than 2 lakh people.
As per the Instagram bio of the accused, he belongs to the state of Bihar and follows Hazrat Maulana Mufti Isnad Squafi who is a teacher at an Islamic Institute named ‘Madni Miya Arabic College’. The Maulana makes Islamic videos on YouTube and also is an Imam at Masjid Ashrafiya.
Similar incidents were reported from Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Yavatmal
Earlier, a similar incident was reported from the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra where four persons flaunted posters of Aurangzeb during a procession in the Mukundnagar area. The police had filed a case against four people in total and had arrested two of them.
Further, on May 17, Yavatmal Police filed an FIR against one person identified as Sheikh Aftaab Shiekh Mannan for uploading an Islamist propaganda social media story on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The accused person had posted a video in which Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was seen bowing down before Aurangzeb. “Aurangzeb Hindustan ka Baap,” the video captioned.
Also, in June this year, massive tensions erupted in the city of Kolhapur after around 7-8 people posted videos praising Aurangzeb and Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan on the glorious day when the state celebrated the 350th Rajyabhishek Day of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Hindus then had launched a huge protest after which the police arrested 6 persons in the case.
In the given case, the accused Sahil has been arrested and the Mumbai Police have transferred the account details of Danish to the cyber team. The accused will soon be located and strict action against him will be taken, the police said.
