Members of the Popular Front of India on Friday protested against the failure of Gulbarga police in taking severe action against culprits who vandalized a mosque and burnt Quran copies in Tadtegnoor.
On the night of December 22, three sanghas broke out the lock of a mosque in Tadtegnoor village, burnt copies of the Quran, including prayer mats, and stole an amplifier. The incident was reported on the early morning of December 23, during the time of Fajr Azaan (call for prayers).
While one miscreant was released on bail within four days of his arrest, the other two are still missing. The police is also said to have filed cases under weaker sections of the Indian Penal Code.
PFI district President Ajaz Shaikh told The Hindustan Gazette, “This is such a big issue, which can cause uproar in the whole country. We trusted the police and waited for 8 days but they (police) did injustice with us. That’s why we conducted a protest and book them under 153A, 293A.”
Section 153A is applied when a person promotes enmity between different groups, while 295A is enforced for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
“After getting released, the miscreant is even boasting about it proudly. He is feeling like a hero and getting full support from Hindi right-wing outfits like Ram Sena, Bajrang Dal,” Shaikh said.
“Is it so easy to burn a religious book and get released?” He questioned adding that “if the police want to create this model then even others will start burning books of other religions without any fear. Police should carry out a thorough investigation into the incident, otherwise, we will keep protesting till any strict action is taken.”
