NEW DELHI: Days after their remarks against Prophet Muhammed stirred a political and diplomatic storm, now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled Delhi BJP media cell head Naveen Jindal have been booked by the Delhi Police for “inflammatory speech”.
Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) has registered two FIRs against 31 people including Sharma and Jindal on charges of delivering inflammatory speeches.
The accused named in the two FIRs include AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand, and journalist Saba Naqvi, and Peace Party spokesperson Shadab Chauhan under sections 153 (provocation), 295 (insult to any religion), and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“We have registered two FIRs under appropriate sections on the basis of social media analysis against those trying to disrupt public tranquillity and inciting people on divisive lines. One pertains to Ms Nupur Sharma and the second FIR has been registered against multiple social media entities,” said a senior police officer.
Mufti Nadeem, Abdur Rehman, Anil Kumar Meena, Pooja Shakun, Gulzar Ansari, Hafizul Hasan Ansari, Bihari Lal Yadav, Lilyas Sharafuddin, R Vikraman, Nagma Sheikh, Dr Mohd Kaleem Turk, Atitur Rehman Khan, Shuja Ahmed, Vinita Sharma, Imtiaz Ahmed, Kumar Divashanker, Danish Quereshi, Swami Jeetndranand, Laxman Das, Kashif, Mohd Sajid Shaheen, Q Sensei, Saif Ad-Din Qutuz, Maulana Sarfaraz, Pooja Priyanvada, Meenakshi Chaudhary and Masood Fyaz Hasmi are other accused named in the FIRs, said the officer. He added that names of two more persons – Owaisi and Narsinghanand were added on Thursday following a preliminary investigation.
“One case has been registered against Nupur Sharma and other one has been registered against multiple social media entities based on the analysis. Notices will be sent to the social media intermediaries for the details,” the Delhi Police said in a statement.
More names could be included in the course of investigation, he further said.
Teams of the IFSO are scanning social media platforms to identify people and also their IP addresses. There has been a surfeit of objectionable posts on these platforms ever since the Nupur Sharma episode snowballed into a major controversy.
“We are keeping a close watch and people found disturbing the social fabric of the society will be dealt with as per the provisions of the law,” said an officer tasked with the investigation.