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Hijab Verdict Row: Duo accused of threatening Judges in Bengaluru Police custody
Bengaluru police have brought the second accused, Jamal Mohammed Usmani, who threatened to kill judges after Hijab verdict from Tamil Nadu.
The Bengaluru police have taken custody of Jamal Mohammed Usmani, the second accused who had allegedly threatened to kill the Karnataka High Court judges, from Tamil Nadu.
Police have already detained Kovai Rahmathullah, another prime accused in the case. Both are members of Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ), an Islamic religious outfit. Duo had threatened the HC judges who dismissed the Hijab-related petitions filed by some Muslim girl students.
The Tamil Nadu police have reportedly arrested Rahmathullah from Tirunelveli and Usmani from Thanjavur. The accused were arrested after a video went viral, where Rahmathullah was purportedly heard saying that the judges who pronounced the verdict will be killed.
Based on the video, a lawyer, Sudha Katwa, had lodged a police complaint in Bengaluru and demanded action against the accused. A three-judge Bench of the Karnataka High Court recently dismissed the petitions which sought permission to wear hijab in classrooms of educational institutions saying headscarf is not an essential religious practice and uniform dress rule should be followed in educational institutions where it has been prescribed.
In this matter, the Karnataka Home Minister said on Wednesday that the state government is contemplating handing over the probe in death threats to three High Court judges to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
"The government has taken the threat to judges seriously, as it amounts to challenging the system. Magistrate Court here has remanded him for eight days of police custody. Bengaluru police will investigate the case," the state's Home Minister said.
Three persons of the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath have been booked in Tamil Nadu so far for issuing the death threats to the HC judges, with one man already having been sent to eight days of police custody for the alleged crime.
(With Inputs from PTI)
