GG News Bureau
Bareilly, 16th March. The Bareilly police have placed Barelvi Sect Cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, the founder president of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council, and four other members of the political outfit under house arrest for 72 hours, from around 10 p.m. Tuesday to Friday.
Tauqeer, who was already booked by the Moradabad police late Sunday night on charges of inciting enmity among sections of the community due to his statements on ‘Hindu Rashtra,’ and others have now been restricted to their respective homes for three days under Section 144 of the CrPC. Tauqeer had stated that those advocating for a Hindu Rashtra should be charged with treason.
On Tuesday, Tauqeer held a press meet at Bareilly claiming that a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ would be taken out from the Jhumka crossing in town around noon on Wednesday to protest the recent lynching of Muslim men in Haryana’s Mewat allegedly by cow vigilante groups, to demand enhanced security in mosques and madrasas, and a ban on Hindu outfits “trying to wedge a rift among communities”.
The proposed yatra was planned to take Tauqeer and his supporters from Bareilly to New Delhi, where they were to hand over a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu to ensure that their demands were met.
“Tauqeer Raza was trying to take out the march without seeking permission for the same. Section 144 of the CrPC is already enforced in the city. We have placed Tauqeer Raza and others under house arrest to maintain the law and order situation in Bareilly,” said Bareilly District Magistrate Shivakant Dwivedi.
Areas in Bareilly, such as Saudagaran, where Tauqeer’s house is located, Bankhana, Biharipur, and Kutubkhana, have been turned into fortresses with heavy police deployment, including two deputy SPs, six inspectors, dozens of police constables, and Local Intelligence Unit personnel. Additional police officers have been stationed at the Police Lines and the PAC headquarters.
Other people facing house arrest besides Tauqeer include Munir Idrisi, the outfit’s press director, Dr Nafis Khan, Nadeem Khan, and Farhat Khan.
“Members of the Ittehad Council have been put under house arrest for three days and this duration can also be extended based on the prevailing situation. We will take care of their medical and other needs during the period,” said Superintendent of Police (City), Bareilly, Rahul Bhati.
“The government is not allowing us to meet even the President, that is why they have first booked me in false cases in Moradabad and now the house arrest,” Tauqeer said in a statement.
The Ittehad-e-Millat Council has previously run unsuccessfully in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Tauqeer established Ittehad-e-Millat Council on October 7, 2001, and in the first municipal election held that year, it won 10 seats and 36,000 votes for its mayoral candidate. Following that, Tauqeer has lent his support to the Congress, BSP, and Samajwadi Party candidates for the Bareilly MP seat as well as Assembly segments in the district.
Tauqeer was appointed vice chairman (a minister of state post) of the Handloom Corporation during the Akhilesh Yadav regime in 2013. However, following the Muzaffarnagar riots in September 2014, he resigned, accusing Akhilesh of failing to protect the rights of the minority community.
The case was filed against Tauqeer under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, and place, etc.), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of a class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), and 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity or ill will between classes).
Tauqeer had stated that he was committed to preserving the country’s unity and diversity.
“Our sole hope now is President Droupadi Murmu because women have a strong sense of compassion. I hope that she will listen to our grievances with patience and pay attention to resolving our issues. Action should be taken against those who are trying to wedge a rift between the Hindus and Muslims and those who are promoting such elements should also be booked under serious charges,” he had said.
Comments are closed.