On Wednesday (7th February), a Junagadh court granted bail to Mufti Salman Azhari who was arrested recently for hate speech. However, Azhari’s troubles are yet to end as Kutch Police (East) is set to formally arrest him in another hate speech case filed against him in Samakhiyali. Reports say that the accused is being brought to Kutch by the police to arrest him formally.
Notably, two other accused in the first FIR, namely, Muhammad Yusuf Malek and Azim Habib Odedara were taken to Junagadh district jail until they completed their bail formalities, while Azhari was transferred to Rajkot’s central jail. After obtaining a transit remand from the Junagadh court, Mufti Azhari was arrested by a team of Kutch (East) Local Crime Branch (LCB) officers.
“Our team is bringing the accused to Kutch and he will be arrested formally,” Kutch (East) police SP Sagar Bagmar said.
On Wednesday, the Junagarh LCB did not seek an extension of Azhari’s custody, however, it opposed the bail plea of the accused since an investigation is still ongoing in the matter. It further stated that it was in the process of gathering information about Rs 52 lakh put in the bank account of Azhari’s Al-Amaan Education and Welfare Trust and that it may require his custody in the days to come. Azhari, Yousuf Malek, and Azim Odedara, who were all arrested in the same case on Monday, were granted bail by the court.
FIR against Salman Azhari in Kutch
As reported earlier, the second FIR against Azhari was registered in Samiyakhali in Kutch on 6th February after it came to light that Mufti Azhari had delivered a provocative speech in Samiyakhali before the viral Junagadh speech. Notably, the organiser, identified as Mamad Khan Mori in Samakhiyali, Kutch, who sought permission for the event named “Dharmik Takrir”, where Salman Azhari gave an inflammatory speech in Kutch, has also been booked in the matter. The police and ATS are investigating the matter jointly.
In the video from Kutch for which the second FIR has been filed, Salman Azhari was heard saying, “We believe that if they desecrate a mosque, a ‘Ghulam’ of Prophet Muhammed will come who will purify the mosque and Azaan will echo in the air. Today is the day of these dogs, tomorrow will be ours.” He then continued to praise the Muslim community of the country for becoming “aware” of the religion. Chants of “Nara-e-Takbir, Allah Hu Akbar” were also heard in the video.
According to Superintendent of Police Sagar Bagmar of Kutch (East), both accused have been booked under Sections 153B and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He said, “We have registered an offence after the video of his hate speed went viral on social media. At present, the Mufti is in the custody of Junagadh Police. We will apply for a transfer warrant to bring him here.”
“Final battle of Karbala…”: inflammatory speech and arrest of Salman Azhari
On 31st January, Mufti Salman Azhari made derogatory remarks against the Hindu community during his 56-minute-long speech in Junagadh city of Gujarat. In the contentious video that went viral on social media, the radical Islamic preacher was heard saying, “The final battle of Karbala is yet to come… a moment of silence, then there will be noise again. The dogs are having their time today. Our time will come tomorrow.”
Before his ‘dog reference’, Salman Azhari spoke in the context of the Ram Mandir Pran Prathishtha at Ayodhya and the legal battle surrounding the disputed Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi.
“If you keep idols inside a mosque, then, it will not become an idol-worshipping place (referring to temples),” he had stated. Azhari defended the tendency of Islamic invaders to appropriate religious structures of non-Muslims and pagans.
“You have kept one idol ( at Ram Mandir) but there were 360 idols at Kaaba. Even then, the Kaaba belonged to the Muslims. This did not stop the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj,” he continued. “…Dear Muslims, the revolution will begin from your homes. They (Hindus) do not dare to convert your mosques to idol-worshipping places (referring to temples). You have yourself abandoned the mosques,” Azhari further added.
