Bhim Sena Founder Nawab Satpal Tanwar Arrested By Delhi Police For Issuing Rs 1 crore Reward To Cut Nupur Sharma's Tongue

A special cell of Delhi police on Thursday (Jun 16) has arrested the founder of Bhim Sena chief Nawab Satpal Tanwar on charges of calling for violence BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma in a video uploaded on a YouTube couple of weeks ago.

In a video shared widely on many social media platforms, the self-proclaimed chief and founder of Bhim Sena, a Dalit outfit set up in 2010, declared a Rs 1 crore reward for anyone who would present to him Sharma’s tongue for allegedly disrespecting Mohammed, regarded by Muslims as their last prophet.

In the incendiary video, Tanwar said, "Nupur Sharma is the real mastermind of Kanpur violence. Modi and Yogi government must arrest her immediately and throw her into jail. However, they didn't take any legal action against her, so I announce a reward of Rs 1 crore to whoever brings me her severed tongue.”

"If the state and central government are not capable of taking action against Nupur Sharma, they should hand over her to me… I will make her do mujra [a dance performed by Mughal era courtesans] in front of everyone and then punish her as I deem fit. The whole country will see her dance," Tanwar says in a 20-minute video available on YouTube.

"Nupur Sharma has committed blasphemy in the name of Nabi… Her crime is not forgivable. She deserves to be hanged," he went on to say.

A complaint was lodged against Tanwar by BJP’s Gurugram youth wing president Sarvapriya Tyagi.

On Tyagi’s complaint, Tanwar was booked under sections 109 (punishment for abetment), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 of (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in an FIR registered at the Sector 37 police station on Tuesday night, said police.

Tyagi had alleged that Tanwar frequently uploads hate speech videos on YouTube aimed especially against Hindus.

“He must be arrested and put behind bars. His statements disrupt social harmony,” Tyagi said.

Tanwar has previously made headlines for issuing similar threats to singer-dancer Sapna Choudhary, Bollywood actor Richa Chaddha and spiritual orator Devki Nandan Thakur. There are several FIRs against him in UP, Haryana and Rajasthan.