A former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from India’s legislative assembly (MLA) was detained by police on suspicion of “supposedly inciting hatred and animosity,” according to Indian news site The Print on Sunday.
According to the story, former BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja was arrested by the Alwar police in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan after being overheard on tape alleging that his supporters had “lynched five people” thus far for cow smuggling.
Shiv Shankar, the station house officer of the Govindgarh police station, was reported in the report as stating that the case was registered based on a video that surfaced after Ahuja paid a visit to the family of a guy who was allegedly lynched by Muslims on Friday.Shiv Shankar, the station house officer of the Govindgarh police station, was reported in the report as stating that the case was registered based on a video that surfaced after Ahuja paid a visit to the family of a guy who was allegedly lynched by Muslims on Friday.
According to Shankar, the first information report for inciting religious hatred and enmity was filed under Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code.According to the allegation, the former BJP MLA was recorded saying: “We have so far lynched five people, be it in Lawandi or Behror,” in reference to the 2017 Pehlu Khan lynching case. I have allowed my employees wide reign to murder. We’ll secure bail and get them exonerated.”
In April 2017, Khan was moving cows in India when he was attacked by hundreds of Hindu vigilantes.
Sanjay Singh Naruka, the BJP’s regional chairman for Alwar (South‘), was reported in the article as claiming that the party “does not have this thinking” and that Ahuja’s opinions were his alone.
