Hate Speech Case: Clash Outside Mumbai Police Station as Gujarat Police Detain Islamic Preacher

GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 5th Feb. An Islamic preacher named Mufti Salman Azhari was detained in Mumbai by the Gujarat Police on Sunday in connection with a hate speech case, according to an official.

Outside the Ghatkopar police station, where Azhari was held, hundreds of his supporters gathered and demanded his immediate release. The situation escalated, leading the police to resort to a mild lathicharge, causing traffic to come to a halt in the area.

The Gujarat Police team has now left with Azhari, as confirmed by the official.

On Saturday, the Junagadh Police arrested two individuals after a video of an inflammatory speech, allegedly delivered by the preacher, went viral on social media. The speech was given at an event held on an open ground near the ‘B’ division police station in Junagadh on January 31.

Following the video’s circulation, an FIR was filed against Azhari, as well as local organizers Mohammad Yousuf Malek and Azim Habib Odedara, under sections 153B (promoting enmity between different religious groups) and 505 (2) (making statements conducive to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.