The Gujarat Police on Wednesday arrested All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen spokesperson Danish Qureshi for allegedly using derogatory language to describe the Hindu deity Shiva on social media, The Times of India reported.
Qureshi had on Tuesday made a comment on Twitter about the purported discovery of a shivling – a symbolic representation of the deity – at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.
A court-appointed surveyor reported that an oval object had been found in the tank of the Muslim place of worship. Hindu petitioners claimed it is a shivling. Muslims, however, say that the object is actually a fountain.
The video survey is being carried out after five women petitioners approached a court in Varanasi claiming that an image of the Hindu deity Shringar Gauri exists at the back of the western wall of the Gyanvapi mosque. They have demanded that they be allowed to offer daily prayers and observe other Hindu rituals at the site.
On Wednesday, some Hindu organisations approached the Ahmedabad Police demanding action against Qureshi.
The AIMIM spokesperson was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 295A (acts intended to outrage feelings of any class) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act (transmitting obscene material), said Amit Vasava, the deputy commissioner of police (cybercrime).
“The action was taken after it came to the notice of the cyber team that derogatory language was used against Hindu gods and goddesses from a Twitter handle belonging to Qureshi,” Additional Commissioner of Police JM Yadav said, according to PTI. “We carried out a technical analysis of the Twitter handle and arrested Qureshi.”
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