Qawwali singer jailed for hate speech against PM, Yogi

The Madhya Pradesh police arrested qawwali singer Sharif Parvaz, booked for making 'provocative' remarks, from Kanpur and brought him to Rewa district on Monday, a police officer said.

"Later in the day, Parvaz was produced in a local court which sent him to judicial custody for 14 days," Rewa City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Manoj Verma told PTI.

The court turned down the police's plea seeking his custody for two days, he said.

A case was registered against the qawwali singer after he allegedly made provocative remarks against the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during a musical event at Mangawa town in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh on March 28.

The MP police arrested Parvaz from Kanpur Dehat on Sunday and brought him to Rewa, where the case against him is registered, Verma said.

He said police teams were sent to Meerut, Lucknow and Kanpur to arrest the Uttar Pradesh-based qawwali singer.

In a video of the show, Parvaz is purportedly heard saying, 'Modi ji kahte hai hum hai, Yogi ji kahte hai hum hai, Amit Shah kahte hai hum hai, lekin hai kaun? Agar gareeb nawaz chah le to Hindustan pata hi nahi chalega kaha par basa tha, kaha par tha. (Modi, Yogi and Shah say they are there. But who are they? If gareeb nawaz (patron of the poor) wishes, it won't be known where India existed).'

The police had registered the case against him following a complaint by some residents of Mangawa.

He has been charged under sections 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot) and 298 (deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person) of the Indian Penal Code, police had said earlier.