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Hijab verdict: Bengaluru police take custody of two for issuing threats to HC judges
The Tamil Nadu police arrested Rahmatullah from Tirunelveli and Usmani from Thanjavur. The accused were arrested after a video went viral, where Rahmatullah was purportedly heard saying that the judges who pronounced the verdict will be killed.
City police on Friday took custody of Jamal Mohammed Usmani, one of the persons who had allegedly threatened to kill Karnataka High Court judges after they dismissed Hijab-related petitions. The suspect was arrested from Tamil Nadu, a senior Karnataka police officer said.
MN Anuchet, deputy commissioner of police (central), said Usmani, who was arrested by Tamil Nadu police, have been taken into custody on a body warrant issued by a local court.
Usmani is member of Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ), an Islamic religious outfit. On Sunday, Tamil Nadu police had arrested Kovai Rahmatullah, another person who had given the speech in which the threat was issue against Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justices Krishna Dixit and Khazi M Jaibunnisa, who were part of a special bench that recently upheld the ban on hijab in the state’s educational institutions.
“There were several protests held across the Tamil Nadu following the verdict. During this, these two men had made the speech. We have already taken Rahmatullah into custody on Tuesday, once again on body warrant,” said Anuchet.
The Tamil Nadu police arrested Rahmatullah from Tirunelveli and Usmani from Thanjavur. The accused were arrested after a video went viral, where Rahmatullah 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. Similar complaints were lodged in Tamil Nadu as well.
“The cases have been registered in Bangalore and in Tamil Nadu, so we will ask for the custody of the men and to take the case forward. We will be talking to Tamil Nadu police on the same,” the officer added.
He also said a third case on the same issue has been registered in Tamil Nadu and it is under investigation.
Karnataka Home Minister on Wednesday said 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. A magistrate court here has remanded him for eight days of police custody. Bengaluru police will investigate the case,” the minister said.
Following the video, Karnataka police had provided Y-category security to three judges of the Karnataka High Court.
