On Thursday, Supreme Court advocate and BJP Spokesperson Prashant Umrao Patel lodged an FIR against an unidentified person who has threatened to behead him. In the FIR filed at Echotech-3 Police station, Prashant mentioned that he received death threats via a phone call at around 12:57 pm on Thursday from a mobile number (9477298804).
According to the reports, Prashant Umrao received death threats after he participated in one of the TV debates on the issue of Gyanvapi Masjid. “The person who called stated that the Shivling discovered in the disputed structure on the Gyanvapi Masjid was actually a fountain. He threatened me and accused me of speaking against the Prophet. He further threatened me for saying that there was no fountain in the Gyanvapi Masjid and the recent discovery is that of a Shivling”, a complaint filed by the BJP leader read.
उत्तर प्रदेश भाजपा के प्रवक्ता @ippatel को जान से मारने की धमकी, नोएडा में दर्ज कराई प्रवक्ता ने FIR
— आदित्य तिवारी / Aditya Tiwari (@aditytiwarilive) June 2, 2022
फोन नंबर से कॉल करके जान से मारने की धमकी भाजपा के प्रवक्ता सुप्रीम कोर्ट के वकील प्रशांत उमराव को दी
ज्ञानवापी के मामले पर एक महीने में गला काट देने की धमकी देते हुए फोन काटा pic.twitter.com/Z1ALDpOaqS
“The person said that he will track my residential address and had plans to slit my throat within a month. He said that they are ready to kill and die and that now I have no chance to save myself”, Prashant said in the complaint adding that the person also abused him several times during the conversation.
When the BJP leader asked the name of the person on phone, he refused to respond and reiterated the death threats to the leader.
Prashant has also received a death threat on the social media platform Instagram following the news debate on the presence of Shivling inside the disputed Gyanvapi structure. The threat read, “Hamara Majhab yeh bilkul nahi sikhata ke kisi dusre majhab par baat uchaali jaaye. Inshaah Allah, jald hi tera sar tan se juda hai. (our religion does not teach us to demean any other religion. Insha’Allah your head will be separated from your body soon)”.
फोन पर गला काटने की धमकी के साथ इंस्टाग्राम पर भी मेरा सर तन से जुदा करने का फतवा दे दिया गया है। @Uppolice https://t.co/Yd2ozS62gk pic.twitter.com/I5G3PTOHS9
— Prashant Umrao (@ippatel) June 2, 2022
The incident came to light when Prashant posted the screenshot of the death threat he received on Instagram on Twitter. The Uttar Pradesh Police took cognizance of the tweet and said that a report has been registered now at the Echotech-3 Police Station in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh and that the matter is under investigation.
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE GAUTAM BUDDH NAGAR (@noidapolice) June 2, 2022
The BJP Spokesperson also mentioned in the FIR that these kind of threats and crimes were dangerous and many people in the past have been targeted in a similar manner. “I need to stay out of my home most of the time and death threats like these should be immediately looked into by the authorities”, he added in the FIR demanding strict legal action against the person who made the phone call. The Instagram account from which the death threats were issued to the BJP leader has since been deleted.
This is not the first time that a BJP leader has received death threats for participating in a TV debate on the issue of the Shivling discovered inside the Gyanwapi structure. Last week, Nupur Sharma, the national spokeswoman of BJP and a leader of the party’s Delhi unit received similar death threats, including the threat to behead her and her family.
The Islamists and many other political parties were outraged and protested against Sharma following the debate. While the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra protested against Sharma, a local Hyderabad-based party AIMIM (Inquilab) announced a reward of Rs 1 crore to any Muslim who would murder the BJP leader.
A Pakistani Twitter handle named ‘Labbaikians TV’ which claims to share ‘The Latest Speeches and interviews of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP)’ had also announced a cash reward of Pakistani Rupees 5 million (Around Rs 19.5 lakhs) to anyone who would behead Nupur for allegedly committing ‘blasphemy’.
