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Samajwadi Party MP, 2 others booked for sedition in UP
A police officer said a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the three in Sambhal district on Tuesday night after one Rajesh Singhal filed the complaint
Opposition Samajwadi Party Parliament member Shafiqur Rehman Barq and two others have been booked for sedition, promoting enmity between religions and deliberately outraging religious feelings following a complaint against them that they allegedly supported the Taliban and likened them to Indian freedom fighters.
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A police officer said a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the three in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday night after one Rajesh Singhal filed the complaint. “Police have slapped charges under Indian Penal Code (IPC)’s Section 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between two religions) and 295A (outraging religious feelings of others),” the officer said, requesting anonymity. He added Mohd Muqeem and Chowdhary Faizan are the other two people named in the FIR.
Barq on Monday said the Taliban wanted to free their country. He said Taliban taking over power in Afghanistan is that country’s internal matter.
Barq said his statement has been twisted out of context. “I stand with my country,” he said in a statement to news agency ANI.
Barq, who represents Sambhal in Parliament, was also named as an accused in an arson and violence case during an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest in December 2019.
