Pune police book Naveen Jindal for derogatory tweets against the Prophet

The Maharashtra Police on Saturday registered a fresh FIR against the expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Naveen Kumar Jindal in Pune’s Kondhwa Police Station for making controversial tweets.

According to the senior Police Inspector of Kondhwa Police Station, Sardar Patil, Jindal has been booked under the section 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, 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), 298 (Uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person), and 505(2) (Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly making derogatory tweets against Prophet Mohammad. Notably, the country has already witnessed massive protests against Jindal and BJP’s spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Friday for making controversial statements against Prophet Muhammad.

After some Gulf nations expressed outrage against the controversial remarks against the Prophet, the country has been witnessing protests in various states including Punjab, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

The protest turned violent in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand, after which the government of each said state took necessary actions to restore peace in the stressed cities.

The administration of Ranchi had imposed a curfew in the district, however, West Bengal has suspended internet services till 6 AM on 13 June.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath also gave full liberty to the police officials to take stringent actions against the ones involved in disturbing the peace of various cities across the state.

In Punjab, the protestors have demanded the arrest of sacked leaders, whereas the instances of stone-pelting and sloganeering were witnessed after the Friday prayers in Uttar Pradesh.

As per the reports, a massive protest broke out at Delhi’s Jama Masjid which was later brought under control after the police removed protestors from the protest site.

However, India on Thursday reiterated that the controversial remarks concerning Prophet Mohammad do not reflect the views of the Government and added that action has been taken by concerned quarters against those who made the comment.

Delhi Police had registered two FIRs on Wednesday—one against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and the other against 31 people, including All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi and controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand - for allegedly spreading hate and hurting religious sentiments, officials said on Thursday.