On Saturday (February 3), Junagadh Police said that Mufti Salman Azhari and two organisers have been booked for making inflammatory remarks at a recent event in the city. The police have registered a suo motu FIR in the matter at the Junagadh B Division Police Station. The action comes after a video of Azhari went viral on social media.
On January 31, accused Mufti Salman Azhari gave a venomous speech during a program attended by a large number of Muslims on the grounds of Narayan Vidya Mandir near the Junagadh court.
Organisers of the event, Muhammad Yusuf Malek, Azim Habib Odedara, and Mufti Salman Azhari, have been named as the accused in the FIR. A case has been filed against the trio under Sections 153(C), 505(2), 188, and 114 of the IPC. The FIR now includes sections for incendiary and provocative speech in the program and a breach of the declaration by extending the program after the time limit had passed. An investigation is now underway into this matter.
જૂનાગઢ શહેરમાં લોકોની લાગણી દુભાય તેવા નિવેદન આપનારા ઈસમો વિરૂદ્ધ કાર્યવાહી કરતી જૂનાગઢ બી ડિવિઝન પોલીસ.@sanghaviharsh @dgpgujarat @GujaratPolice @IGP_JND_Range #GujaratPolice #junagadhpolice #Police #crimecontrol pic.twitter.com/zX0POmIgf8
— SP Junagadh (@SP_Junagadh) February 2, 2024
In the 22-second viral video, the Mufti can be heard saying, “Abhi to karbala ka akhiri maidan baqi hai…Kuch der ki khamoshi hai, fir shore ayega… Aaj kutton ka wakt hai, kal hamara daur ayega.” (The final battle of Karbala is yet to come… a moment of silence, then there will be noise again. Today is the time of the dogs, tomorrow will be our time).” After saying this, he chants, “Labbaik Ya Rasulullah” and the crowd in front repeats it.
As reported earlier, in his speech Azhari spoke about the history of Junagadh and said that the people of Junagadh did not fall into the hands of anyone. “It took several attempts to get them inside. Just as you did not soon come to anyone’s hands, I want you today not to wear someone else’s belt around your neck, we only have the servitude of Tajdar-e-Madinah…,” he said. Then Azhari and the crowd start chanting the slogan ‘Ghulam Hai Ghulam Hai, Rasool Ke Ghulam Hai’.
The viral video sparked outrage on social media with people demanding police action against Mufti Azhari. OpIndia published exclusive and thorough reports on this matter on Thursday, February 1. Meanwhile, OpIndia called the police, where it turned out that they were aware of the incident and were investigating it. Now, OpIndia has learnt that an FIR has been registered in the matter.
