On Wednesday, August 9th, 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.
The commotion subsided following interventions by social workers and law enforcement authorities. Police said, “An investigation has been initiated against an unidentified female, and efforts are underway to locate her. The objective now is to ascertain the actual operator behind the Instagram account.”
Additional Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kumar Khaka, CSP Abhinav Kumar Wareng, and Industrial Police Station In-charge Rajendra Verma were also manhandled at night. City Qazi Ahmed Ali who went there to pacify the situation was also sent back.
The Muslims gathered there also called for the demolition of the residence belonging to the individual responsible for the offensive post. At one point, there was even an endeavour to enter the police post by the mob. However, through collaborative interventions by CSP Warange, TI Anurag Yadav, and City Qazi Ali, the young protestors eventually acquiesced to staging their protest on the road.
Subsequently, the police lodged an FIR. Following that, social activist Imran Khokar and councillor Waseem Ali took to the police vehicle to address the crowd, successfully urging them to conclude the traffic disruption.
Additional SP Rakesh Khakha said, “Someone had posted an objectionable post on social media, following which, people of one community came to lodge a complaint as they got angry. We assured the people and have registered a case against the person who posted the controversial post. The entire matter is being investigated.”
