On Wednesday, the SIT investigating the Kanpur violence that erupted on June 3 over the alleged ‘blasphemous’ remarks made by ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, arrested one Mukhtar Baba for funding the violence. Mukhtar Baba is the owner of a restaurant named ‘Baba Biryani’ in Kanpur and is also accused of feeding free food to the rioters as a consideration of violence.
According to the reports, Mukhtar Baba had funded accused Hayat Zafar Hashmi’s Kanpur-based NGO named Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Fans Association. He was on the radar of SIT and Kanpur police since the violence as his name had come up during the interrogation of the already arrested accused in the case.
The Kanpur Police on June 21 nabbed Mukhtar Baba who was absconding since June 3. Joint Police Commissioner Anand Prakash Tiwari confirming Mukhtar Baba’s arrest said that his name had cropped up in crowdfunding. “He is being taken into custody and interrogated”, Tiwari was quoted.
Reports mention that Mukhtar Baba, on the day of violence had also fed the rioters and stone-pelters with Biryani. However, his son Mahmood while talking to Opindia refused to accept the claims. Some of the local leaders meanwhile reported that Baba Biryani is illegally built on land that actually belongs to a temple and that Mukhtar and his accomplices had been plotting violence for a long time to maintain their illegal occupation.
According to the government records, the land on which the restaurant stands today belongs to the Ram-Janki temple. The fact surfaced when the state administration was tracing all the illegal properties owned by the enemies under the Enemy Property Act. Ram Janki Trust property was first gifted by a Pakistani Aabid Rehman to Mukhtar Baba’s mother who by will transferred it to her son. The main temple and 18 other Hindu shops were razed down to establish the present Biryani restaurant.
Till 1980s there used to be regular worship in Ram Jaanki Temple. Reportedly, the Kanpur administration has issued notice to Custodian, Enemy Property for clarification as it is not clear how Ram Jaanki Temple Trust property turned into Enemy Property ostensibly owned by a Pakistani in last 40 years.
Kanpur Violence
Days after BJP Spokeswoman Nupur Sharma received death threats for allegedly committing ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad, severe violence erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district with Islamists giving a call for a shutdown in the area to protest against Sharma. The protest turned violent as hundreds of Islamists joined the protest after the Friday prayers and began pelting stones at the Police and the civilians.
The Police later arrested more than 40 miscreants in the issue and razed down illegal properties owned by prime accused Hayat Zafar Hashmi and his associates. The Police also found incriminating chats from Hashmi’s phone and probed his bank accounts to trace the funds received from the Gulf countries to allegedly back the violence.
