On Monday (6th May), Free Press Journal published a report to unveil the terror plot in the Surat incident where a Maulana (cleric) was recently arrested for conspiring to kill prominent Hindu leaders including suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. In a sleight of hand and omission of qualifier words, the report about the radicalised and murderous cleric goes on to shift the blame onto the victims for having brought fate upon themselves, accusing them of inciting religious sentiments and making inflammatory speeches against Islam.
While the headline of the report has used ‘alleged’ as a qualifier to avoid directly labelling the victims as guilty, in the body, it has adjudged and labelled the victims as anti-Islamic and guilty of hate speeches against Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. With the ever-increasing menace of Sar Tan Se Juda chanting frenzied mobs issuing open threats for perceived hate speeches or insulting remarks against Islam and Prophet Mohammed, blaming the victims of hate speeches against Prophet Mohammed, violating their right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty, paints a target on their backs for the Islamist mob.
It is virtually a death sentence for the victims and a clarion call for Islamist mobs to bay for their lives for indulging in a crime that is deemed worthy to be punished by beheading, as per Islamists.
Evidently, the report states that the arrest of the cleric in Surat has revealed a sinister conspiracy to assassinate prominent Hindu and right-wing leaders in India for their hate speeches against Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. It added that the individuals targeted by Maulana and his Pakistan-based accomplices are “known for their anti-Islamic rhetoric, igniting religious sentiments across the nation.”
According to the report, suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Updesh Rana, the national secretary of Vishwa Sanatan Sangh, were among the prime targets of Maulana Abu Bakr “for their inflammatory speeches”.
To portray Sharma negatively and hold her accountable for violence and unrest in parts of India, the report cited an oral observation made by one of the Supreme Court Judges in July 2022, who had reprimanded her for her remarks in a televised debate. However, it omitted the fact that the victim in this case, Nupur Sharma, has been living in hiding for more than a year and has been constantly fearing for her life due to the supposed crime, which has not been proven and draws reference from Islamic scriptures.
Additionally, while rationalising the motive of the arrested cleric for hatching the conspiracy to kill prominent Hindu leaders, the report also omitted the backdrop that led Sharma to retort to a Muslim cleric deriding Hindu deities with profanity by cautioning him to quote an excerpt from Islamic scripture. Pertinent to note that no Islamic scholar has raised objections or termed the quoted excerpts as anti-Islamic. Incidentally, on 1st December last year, former Indian Express ‘journalist‘ Irena Akbar tweeted the same thing that former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma had said, with several fellow Islamists agreeing with her.
The FPJ report states, “Former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Updesh Rana, the national secretary of Vishwa Sanatan Sangh, were among the prime targets of Maulana Abu Bakr for their inflammatory speeches. This revelation comes in the wake of a Supreme Court reprimand directed at Nupur Sharma in July 2022, following her remarks against Prophet Mohammad in a televised debate. The court held Sharma accountable for inciting violence and unrest, emphasizing her role in triggering nationwide protests.”
Further, it added that sources within the Surat crime branch revealed Maulana’s deep-seated animosity towards Updesh Rana and Nupur Sharma “for their anti-Islamic stance”. “Updesh Rana’s dissemination of hate speeches and provocative content online fueled the ire of Maulana and his associates, exacerbating religious tensions in the country,” it added while blaming Updesh Rana, the victim in this case, for irking the Maulana.
The Pakistan-funded Muslim cleric, Abu Bakar, was in touch with radicals from Indonesia to Kazakhstan
Gujarat Police arrested a 27-year-old Maulvi (cleric) named Sohail Abu Bakar Timol from Surat on Saturday, 4th May 2024. He is accused of conspiring to kill suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma, party MLA from Hyderabad’s Goshamahal T Raja Singh, Sudarshan News editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke, and Sanatan Sangh national chairman as well as social media activist Updesh Rana.
The Maulvi considered them ‘gustakh’ (blasphemers). He maintained contact with handlers living in Pakistan and Nepal to execute his nefarious plans. He was also using a foreign SIM card to evade security agencies.
OpIndia looked into the activities of Maulvi Sohail Abu Bakar Timol and his handlers. He used the picture of Hamas terrorists as his WhatsApp profile picture in which many masked terrorists could be seen prostrating in front of lethal weapons. He had written “Owaisi’s follower” in broken English as an introduction to his True Caller. Click here, to read more details about the case.
The cleric had been in touch with handlers in Pakistan and Nepal over the previous year and a half, the police uncovered during their inquiry. The handler in Nepal has been identified as Shahzad. The cleric talked with each of them via a SIM Card issued from Laos. He used WhatsApp and other social media platforms to communicate. Sohail was ordered by his superiors to ‘straighten out’ those who, according to them, were defaming the honour of the Islamic Prophet.
