Hyderabad police on Tuesday detained Syed Abdahu Quadri, alias Kashaf, under Preventive Detention (PD) Act for allegedly creating enmity between Hindus and Muslims.
On the orders of Hyderabad Police Commissioner, the 27-year-old was detained and sent to Central Prison Chanchalguda.
Kashaf, who calls himself a political strategist and a social and civil rights activist, had allegedly raised ‘sar tan se juda’ slogan during a recent protest against suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh over his derogatory comments about Prophet Mohammad.
The action against Kashaf came four days after police detained Raja Singh under PD Act and sent him to jail on the same charges.
According to police, Kashaf has been habitually posting provocative and inflammatory messages and videos in the social media through his Twitter account with an intention to promote enmity between Hindus and Muslims and cause breach of communal peace and disturb public tranquillity.
On the intervening night of August 22 and 23, he along with a number of supporters staged a ‘dharna’ in front of the Office of the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad City at Basheerbagh in protest against posting of offensive video by Raja Singh.
Hundreds of young men from Muslim community from all over the city had descended at the office of the Commissioner of Police and joined the protest “dharna”.
“The detenu instigated the protestors to raise provocative and inflammatory slogans as ‘Naare Takbeer Allah Hu Akbar – Gustak-e-Rasool ki ek hi saza, sar tan se judaa (beheading is the only punishment for a person who disrespects the Prophet)’ and has created hatred and ill-will between the Muslim and Hindu religious communities in the limits of Hyderabad City Police Commissionerate, thereby adversely affecting the maintenance of public order,” a police statement said.
“Since this video and slogans went viral on national television channels and social media platforms, it created disturbance to public order throughout the country,” it added.
Police said the provocative and inciting slogans raised by the detenu during the protest programme has caught the attention of the gullible youth of the Muslim community which led to widespread protest programmes with violent incidents in different parts of the Hyderabad City. The details of the violent incidents were reported in the limits of Moghalpura, Shahinayathgunj, Bhavaninagar and Hussainialam Police Station in which the protestors have damaged the police vehicle, pelted stones on a police station, and attacked the hotel vendor and private cab driver.
According to police, Kashaf is involved in four offences in Hyderabad Police Commissionerate, among them 3 offences related to creating hatred between Muslims and Hindus. In 2020, he was also booked for uploading a video instigating the people to stage Million march and dharna at Indira Park, Hyderabad in protest against the CAA and NRC. He had uploaded a video on his twitter account and social media platformA instigating the people to stage dharna at Pragathi Bhavan (CM’s camp office), Hyderabad in protest against alleged demolition of Qutubshahi Masjid at Shameerpet and. In 2016, he was allegedly involved in an attack on then legislator and former minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir.
Kashaf was arrested on August 25 and was produced before a magistrate. However, he was released on personal bond.
The action against him was taken hours after suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh Lodh was sent to jail under PD Act.
According to police, Raja Singh has been habitually delivering provocative and inflammatory speeches and driving a wedge between communities leading to public disorder.
A total of 101 criminal cases have been registered against him since 2004. He was involved in 18 communal offences in the limits of different police stations in Hyderabad.
