A Samajwadi Party leader is facing legal action after allegedly urging Muslims to protest Eid celebrations in response to an alleged US attack on Iran, sparking controversy and raising questions about freedom of expression.
A Samajwadi Party (SP) leader has been booked for allegedly urging Muslims not to celebrate Eid this year as a protest against the US attack on Iran, while claiming that it was an appeal of jailed leader Azam Khan, police said on Monday.
Additional Superintendent of Police Anurag Singh said the accused, SP leader Yusuf Malik from Moradabad, had met Khan in the Rampur jail on March 14.
Khan's wife, Tazeen Fatima, was also present during the meeting, the officer said.
Malik later told mediapersons outside the jail that Khan had appealed to Muslims to wear black clothes and refrain from celebrating Eid this year to express grief over the deaths of more than 160 girls in a recent missile strike on a school in Iran, allegedly carried out by the US, Singh said.
Police said a video of Malik making the statement was circulated on social media, following which a sub-inspector posted at the Ganj police station lodged a complaint against him.
Based on the complaint, a case has been registered against Malik on Sunday night under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 196(1) (promoting enmity between groups on grounds such as religion and disturbing social harmony), 153(2) (waging war against the government of any foreign state), and 57 (inciting the public or a group of more than 10 persons to commit an offence).
Further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation, the officer added.