BJP sacked Nupur Sharma over her comment on Prophet Muhammad
The list of people charged by the Delhi Police over hate speech - including for comments on Prophet Muhammad and social media posts on the claim that a 'Shivling' (symbol of Lord Shiva) has been found in Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque - is getting longer as all hate-speech incidents have been clubbed into two cases.
At least 32 people have been named in a First Information Report, or FIR, filed by the Delhi Police for hate speech, inciting groups and creating situations that disturb peace and harmony in society. Yati Narsinghanand, accused in the Haridwar hate speech case; journalist Saba Naqvi, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and religious groups are named in this FIR.
The second FIR is against sacked BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her comments on Prophet Muhammad on the news channel Times Now, which drew massive condemnation from Gulf nations.
The Delhi Police filed the FIR against the 32 people after analysing social media posts made just before and after the comments by Ms Sharma on TV. Sacked BJP spokesperson Naveen Jindal is among the 32 who face hate speech charges.
Mr Owaisi, who heads the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, or AIMIM, has questioned the Delhi Police for clubbing the hate speech case against sacked BJP spokesperson Naveen Jindal with others including himself. Mr Owaisi alleged the police, not wanting to upset those who supported Ms Sharma even after her comments on TV, did a balancing act by clubbing all the names.
Below are some people named in the Delhi Police FIRs and the allegations against them:
Nupur Sharma - Comments on Prophet Muhammad on TV.
Naveen Jindal - Tweet on Prophet Muhammad.
Saba Naqvi - Meme tweet on Shivling.
Asaduddin Owaisi - Inciting religious divide.
Pooka Shakun Pandey - Wrote letter to ban Friday prayers by Muslims.
Mufti Nadeem - Threatened to gouge out eyes of those who insult Prophet Muhammad.
Shadab Chauhan - Inciting religious divide.
"I am shocked to learn that my name has been included in the FIR...I am a journalist and tasked with speaking truth to power. Social media and news sites suggest the FIR has been filed because of a WhatsApp forward that I shared only to delete it a few hours later. Many others also shared the same image, yet I have been selectively targeted in the FIR," Ms Naqvi said. "I am committed to the secular and liberal ethos of India and stand against any fundamentalism, hate speech and injustice. I am currently out of India and will comply with due process on my return in mid-July," she said.
The BJP took 10 days to sack Ms Sharma and Mr Jindal despite massive outrage on social media in India over the comment and tweet by the party's sacked spokespersons. The action came after Gulf nations cautioned India over rising hate speech against Muslims in the country.