NAVI MUMBAI: After Navi Mumbai police failed to file a suo moto FIR against self-proclaimed Hindu rights activist Kajal Shingala alias Kajal Hindustani for her alleged hate speech during Hindu Jan Akrosh morcha in February, Maharashtra Salokha Samiti has registered a complaint at Vashi police station.
The FIR was registered on April 24 after Rekha Deshpande and Haseena Khan, from Samiti, submitted a letter to the commissioner on March 24.
The Samiti members had met Milind Bharambhe, Navi Mumbai police commissioner, before the Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha, requesting that permission should not be granted for such a morcha, which could disturb peace.
“Our Samiti was formed last year after such protests started happening. Navi Mumbai is a peaceful city, and no such hatred should be a part of it and hence, we had requested the police to refuse permission to Jan Akrosh Morcha,” said Neela Limaye of Salokha Samiti
“We were told that the protest would be peaceful. We had also informed the police that as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court, an FIR should be filed if a hate speech is made. The police should be taking suo motu action,” added Limaye.
Limaye said they monitored the morcha and the speeches made by the leaders. “It was extremely disturbing to see the kind of statements they made against the Muslim community. But there was no FIR filed by the police. We waited for more than a month and met the commissioner again. We were told that nobody had come forward with a complaint. Ideally, police had the right to file the FIR, but it was not done and hence, we decided to go ahead and register the FIR,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}Limaye said they monitored the morcha and the speeches made by the leaders. “It was extremely disturbing to see the kind of statements they made against the Muslim community. But there was no FIR filed by the police. We waited for more than a month and met the commissioner again. We were told that nobody had come forward with a complaint. Ideally, police had the right to file the FIR, but it was not done and hence, we decided to go ahead and register the FIR,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}According to a Navi Mumbai police officer, they went through a video of the morcha and had even transcribed its audio, and as per norms, had forwarded it to a public prosecutor for legal opinion. The police were told that no FIR was required and hence, no suo moto action was taken.
However, after Salokha Samiti members approached the police, the FIR was registered. “As per the procedure, a notice would be issued to the accused and due process of the investigation would be followed,” said Vivek Pansare, deputy commissoner of police, Zone I.
The FIR mentioned that Shingala, who was arrested by the Una police on April 9 for a hate speech, which allegedly led to a communal clash last month, had called upon Hindus to boycott Muslim traders.
“Action should be taken not just against Shingala, but also against politicians, who supported the hate-spewing morcha in Vashi on Februrary 26,” said Limaye.
Shingala was booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153B (imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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