Ajmer court acquits all accused charged with raising beheading slogans
The slogans were allegedly raised during a protest against suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma for her comments about Prophet Muhammed in June 2022
The district court in Rajasthan’s Ajmer on Tuesday acquitted all six accused charged with raising slogans calling for beheading during a protest against suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma for her comments about Prophet Muhammed in June 2022.
Sharma’s comments during a TV debate in May 2022 triggered violence in parts of the country. The BJP suspended her and expelled another functionary after their remarks against the Prophet triggered a diplomatic row. Countries in West and South-East Asia denounced the comments. Kuwait, Qatar, and Iran were among the countries that summoned Indian ambassadors to protest against them. The Supreme Court pulled up Sharma for her remarks saying her “loose tongue has set the entire country on fire”.
Public prosecutor Ghulam Nazami Farooqui said Judge Ritu Meena ordered the acquittal including of the prime accused Gauhar Chishti, a Khadim or an attendant at the 13th-century Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s shrine. He added the reasons for the acquittal will be clear once they get a copy of the verdict.
Farooqui said they will move to the high court against the verdict and seek justice. “[Gauhar] Chishti is a long-time accused in cases involving disturbing of the law-and-order situation.”
Gauhar Chishti’s lawyer, Urpreet Singh Sodi, said justice prevailed. “Though we have not received a copy of the verdict so far, it is clear that the investigation failed to find any sound evidence against my client. We are ready to fight in the high court too.”
Gauhar Chishti allegedly raised the slogans at a gathering in June 2022. “The collector permitted only a peaceful rally in the area. However, thousands of people gathered...Gauhar Chishti, on a loudspeaker, raised a slogan to behead the one who defamed Prophet Muhammed. Though no name was taken, it was clearly intended for the BJP leader Sharma,” said investigator Dalbeer Foujdar.
In June 2022, Gauhar Chishti was booked under Indian Penal Code’s Sections 117 (abetting commission of offence by the public or by more than 10 persons), 143 and 149 (unlawful assembly), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
A video of the incident surfaced on social media and Gauhar Chishti’s aides Tazim Siddiqui, Farooq Zamali, Nasir, Moeen, and Riyaz Hassan were arrested the next day. Gauhar Chishti was arrested in July 2022 along with one Ahsanullah from Hyderabad for sheltering the main accused. Ahsanullah got bail last year.
In 2023, the Supreme Court and the Rajasthan high court denied Gauhar Chishti bail taking cognisance of his criminal record and the fact that the killers of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal, who was killed for his social media post supporting Sharma, raised the same slogan related to beheading.
Foujdar said Gauhar Chishti was accused in five other cases including three related to provoking communal violence and delivering hate speech in Ajmer. He was acquitted in two of these cases.