BJP Rajya Sabha member Kailash Soni making a submission during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha Budget Session Thursday highlighted the barbaric murder of Dhandhuka youth Kishan Bharwad for alleged blasphemy. Kishan was shot dead by radical Islamists after he had shared a social media post with a visual depiction of Prophet Muhammad, even though he had apologised for the same.
The BJP leader said that the ATS probe into the case has revealed that Kishan Bharwad was murdered on the lines of Kamlesh Tiwari, the Hindu Samaj Party leader assassinated brutally in his office-cum-residence at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, by Islamists on October 18, 2019.
He further said that a report by Gujarat Mirror, a leading Gujarati daily evening newspaper, has made shocking revelations in the murder case of Kishan Bharwad. According to the BJP leader, the report has revealed that Maulana Shabbir was given the contract to kill 11 other persons, including Sudarshan TV’s Suresh Chavhanke and Yati Narsinghanand. “I want to mention the murder of Kishan Bharwad in Gujarat. ATS has revealed that the accused wanted to kill Sudarshan TV’s Suresh Chavhanke along with 11 others,” the BJP leader said on the Rajya Sabha.
The Gujarat Mirror report had said that accused had gathered information about 11 persons, including B S Patel, Pankaj Sharma, Pushpendra Kulshresth, Mahendra Pal, Yati Narsinghanand, Rahul Sharma, Radhe Shyam Acharya, Updesh Rana, Upasna Arya, Suresh Chavhanke and R S N Singh.
Kishan Bharwad’s murder was a conspiracy to instigate communal riots in the country ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections
The BJP Rajya Sabha member further said that the Gujarat Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) interrogated accused Shabbir Imtiaz, Maulana Ayyub Jawrawala of Jamalpur and revealed that the murder contract was given with an intention to instigate communal riots and perpetuate chaos in the country ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections in 5 states Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Punjab, and Uttarakhand.
The ATS has recovered ammunition and cash from the accused, who have links with the Islamist terrorists operating from Dubai and Pakistan.
Kailash Soni said that he highlighted the brutal murder of Kishan Bharwad in the Rajya Sabha to demand security for nationalist Suresh Chavhanke, Yati Narsinghanand of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad and Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, formerly known as Wasim Rizvi, who are on the hit list of these radical Islamists.
On February 7, OpIndia reported how a report by News18 Gujarati revealed that investigating agencies have uncovered profiles of as many as 26 people including Yati Narsinghanand of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad and Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, formerly known as Wasim Rizvi.
Moreover, a report by Indian Express read that the ATS had obtained about 26 profiles from Maulana Ayyub’s mobile phone. An investigation is being carried out to find out whether these people were also on the target. Maulana Ayyub was arrested from Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur and is accused of providing the gun to the killers of Bharwad. Police are investigating whether these people were also on the radar of assassination like Kishan Bharwad.
Kishan Bharwad murder case
Kishan Bharwad, a Dhandhuka youth, was shot and killed by two bike-borne assailants on January 25, 2022, after he published a social media post with a visual image of Prophet Muhammad. Muslims find the image of Prophet Muhammad insulting, and Islamists accept and promote the execution of individuals who commit such “blasphemy.”
At least six clerics have been arrested across India in the aftermath of Kishan Bharwad’s murder. So far, eight persons have been arrested in connection with the case. Multiple agencies are looking into the matter, and they believe it is part of a broader plot.
