On Monday (18th December), the Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi demanded the withdrawal of a police case filed against 11 Muslims in Dharangaon, Jalgaon, Maharashtra for allegedly raising Hamas and Palestine flags and raising anti-India slogans on 8th November 2023. Azmi claimed that ‘no Hamas flags were raised’ during the rally and that the allegations leveled against the 11 accused are ‘false’.
The 11 accused persons booked in the case on 16th December 2023 are Sheikh Rafiq Sheikh Musa Qureshi, Irfan Sheikh Armaan, Mohammed Ismail Yusuf, Nagar Momin, Nadimoddin Ejajoddin Kazi, Kalu Ustad, Mohammed Saleem Mohammed Isac Momin, Ibrahim Janab urf Ittu Janab, Amjad Khan Gulab Khan Beldaar, Mohammed Ayas Mohammed Siddiqi, Junaid Khan. These persons have been booked by the Jalgaon Police under sections 153(A)(1)(b) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Azmi on Monday (18th December) said that the rally was organized by Muslims in support of Palestine with police permission and that no flags of Hamas were raised. “Muslims in Dharangaon (Jalgaon district) had organized a rally in support of Palestine with proper permission on 8th November. A local group later organized a counter rally and raised provocative slogans. This rally was organized without permission, but no police case was registered against them,” he said.
He also claimed that the participants of the counter-rally maintained that Hamas flags were carried during the rally by Muslims but nothing as such happened.
Azmi’s comments came after Maharashtra Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis assured in the state assembly that strict action would be taken against the accused who raised pro-Hamas slogans and flags in a rally at Dharangaon, Jalgaon in Maharashtra.
The issue was raised in the state assembly by BJP MLC Prasad Lad who demanded a thorough investigation into the case. He stated that individuals supporting Hamas had participated in the Dharangaon rally, prompting the deputy chief minister to promise a thorough examination of the information provided by Lad and appropriate action.
Muslims carried steel rods, raised ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’, ‘Hamas Jindabad, Bharat Murdabad’ slogans, flags
Team OpIndia obtained the FIR of the case filed on 16th December 2023. The FIR has been filed based on the complaint of one of the members of the Rashtriya Suraksha Manch, Dharangaon and it is the same which Azmi wants the Police to withdraw.
As per the FIR, the rally in support of Palestine, ‘Julus-e-Gaosiya’ was organized by a Muslim organization named Rafiq Qureshi Foundation in Dharangaon on 8th November 2023. The rally was attended by around 2500 to 3000 people from the Muslim community. Even the Muslim children studying in Madarsas nearby participated in the rally.
The participants in the rally including the 11 accused persons raised anti-India slogans and ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogans. They also hailed Pakistan, Palestine, and Hamas during the rally and condemned India’s support to Israel. The slogans raised by the accused as per the FIR are- “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek hi saja, Sar Tan Se Juda Sar Tan Se Juda,” “Hinduo ka raja, Mera Khwaja,” “Hamas Jindabad, Bharat Murdabad,” and “Hamas tera naam roshan hoga, insha allah insha Allah.”
The FIR also says that the accused persons raised the Palestine flags and flags supporting the terrorist organization ‘Hamas’ during the rally as it reached the Jain lane and main market area of Dharangaon. They also carried steel rods. Some videos of this incident were captured by the locals and were obtained by OpIndia in which the accused persons and the Muslim participants of the rally could be heard raising anti-India, pro-Hamas slogans.
Palestine flags, Pakistan flags raised in rally organized by Muslims in Dharangaon, Jalgaon from OpIndia Videos on Vimeo.
One of the members of the Rashtriya Suraksha Manch, Dharangaon exclusively informed OpIndia that the Hamas flags were raised by the accused and they hid the flags after seeing people making videos. “Some of the people also threw the flags as they saw cameras capturing the incident,” he added.
The complainant in the FIR said that along with him many others shot the videos of the incident which were submitted to the police while filing a police complaint.
“Such incidents create a divide among the society and are a threat to communal peace and tranquility. Strict action against all the accused is a must,” the FIR dated 16th December read. The FIR in the case has been filed under sections 153(A)(1)(b) and 188 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Further probe is underway.
The rally was organized in support of the terrorist organization Hamas which launched a brutal attack on Israel on 7th October. The Hamas terrorists abducted and killed hundreds of civilians and also raped women in Israel. They stripped them naked and paraded them in their vehicles as a part of the attack. Several similar rallies were organized by Islamists in different parts of the country showing their support to the terrorist organization, Hamas.
