Aurangabad: Ahead of the upcoming rally of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Telangana MLA T Raja Singh in Maharashtra's Nanded district, police arrested a 50-year-old man in the district for allegedly inciting the Muslim youth against the rally, officials said on Thursday. Raja, who is known for his controversial anti-Muslim statements, is scheduled to address a rally at the Biloli area of Nanded on April 9.
A police officer said that one Suleman Ahmed Shaikh was arrested for inciting the youth on Thursday. He was produced in a local court, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody, the police said. Shaikh is accused to have held a meeting at a private function hall in Biloli on March 24. The police said at the meeting, the accused appealed to the Muslim community youth present there that they should oppose the rally of T Raja Singh stating that it would lead to “tension” in the area.
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A video of the meeting also went viral. After going through the contents of the video, the police took suo motu cognizance and registered a case under sections 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred, or ill-will between classes) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Wednesday.
Shaikh was arrested by the police in the early hours of Thursday. The police said that efforts are on to nab another accused in the case. According to Inspector Anant Barude of Biloli police station, the arrested accused Shaikh is a history sheeter and has been named in seven cases in the past. Further investigation into the case is underway. It may be recalled that T Raja Singh was suspended by the BJP in August 2022 following an uproar over his alleged remarks against Islam and the Prophet. Singh represents the Goshamahal Assembly constituency in Hyderabad.
