Islamic Preacher's Followers Gherao Police Station In Mumbai Protesting Against Detention In Hate Speech Case

After an Islamic preacher was detained for hate speech in Mumbai, his hundreds of followers gheraoed Ghatkopar police station demanding his immediate release on Sunday (4 February) night.

Gujarat Police are investigating this hate speech case after a video of Mufti Salman Azhari giving inflammatory sermons went viral on social media. Subsequently, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed.

Times of India reported that the crowd didn't leave despite police making announcements on loudspeakers. Also, the crowd blocked the road disrupting the traffic. Ultimately, the police had to use force to move away people.

The said speech was delivered at an event held on an open ground near the 'B' division police station in Gujarat's Junagadh on the night of 31 January. Two persons were arrested in this case on Saturday.

To further investigate the case, Gujarat Police wanted to take Azhari along with them to Junagadh. However, seeing a large gathering of people, the police had to deploy additional force from nearby stations and strengthen the security.

According to NDTV, the FIR was filed against Azhari and local organisers Mohammad Yousuf Malek and Azim Habib Odedara under IPC sections 153B (promoting enmity between different religious groups) and 505 (2) (making statements conducive to public mischief).