Mumbai: 1,000 booked for causing chaos outside Ghatkopar police station

Locals gathered in protest near Ghatkopar police station on Sunday. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

The Ghatkopar police have booked more than 1,000 people and arrested five for allegedly causing a ruckus and pelting stones outside the police station on Sunday. The incident occurred as the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) was in the process of taking detained Muslim cleric Mufti Salman Azhari to Gujarat, where a case of delivering an inflammatory speech has been registered against him.

According to the police, Azhari was detained by the Gujarat ATS at his residence and brought to the police station for documentation before obtaining his transit remand. However, news of his detention spread among his followers through social media, resulting in more than 3,000 people gathering outside the police station demanding his release. The police clarified that the Gujarat ATS was handling the matter, and they were determining whether to arrest him. The people were urged not to take the law into their own hands.

"As the crowd grew restless and swelled, Azhari was requested to address them. Despite his appeal, a few individuals began pelting stones, resulting in an injury to an ACP-rank officer. The police had to resort to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd," an officer stated. The five arrested individuals accused of inciting the crowd are Ghatkopar residents Salman Sayyed, 25; Azim Sheikh, 21; Mohammed Shabbir Lal Mohammed, 32; and Vikhroli residents Mohammed Bilal Abdul Rahman Qazi, 23, and Abdul Rahman Abdullah Qazi, 60.

Was Gujarat police negligent?

According to the police, Azhari is being taken to Gujarat for delivering hate speech in Junagadh on January 31. Sources indicated that negligence by the Gujarat police contributed to the large gathering. An officer mentioned that while taking Azhari into custody, the Gujarat ATS officers came to Mumbai but were unable to make any decisions. The Mumbai police asked them to either take him to Gujarat or provide a notice under Section 41A of the CrPC. However, the Gujarat ATS stated that they were not the investigating officers and the officers probing the case were coming from Gujarat, which will take time.

The investigating officer of the case in Junagadh arrived in Mumbai around 8 pm, after which the Gujarat police decided to take the Mufti back to the neighbouring state. After this decision, Mufti was taken to Sion Hospital for a medical examination and then presented in the night court where he was given a transit remand of two days. After that, the Gujarat police took him back.

The Mumbai police asked Mufti not to create disturbances outside the police station, warning him that both he and the crowd would face consequences. Mufti addressed the crowd from the window, urging his followers to cooperate with the police and disperse. However, the crowd only decreased slightly. According to sources, from 2015, around 10 cases related to hate speech as well as rioting were registered against Azhari, including the one in which Gujarat police arrested him. One case was registered by the Mumbai police in 2021. It was later closed and the police filed an A summary report.

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No of people arrested