The Gujarat Police, on Wednesday, 18 May, arrested All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) spokesperson Danish Qureshi for allegedly making derogatory remarks to describe Hindu deities on Twitter in connection with the Gyanvapi Mosque row, an official said, as per PTI.
Crime Branch ACP JM Yadav said Qureshi, a spokesperson of the Hyderabad-based party in Gujarat, was arrested after his post on reports about the discovery of a Shivling inside the Gyanvapi Mosque complex during a court-mandated videography survey generated criticism from some quarters.
Hindu organisations made a representation before the Ahemdabad police, asking them to take action against Qureshi.
"The action was taken after it came to the notice of the cyber team that derogatory language was used against Hindu gods and goddesses from a Twitter handle belonging to Qureshi. We carried out a technical analysis of the Twitter handle and arrested Qureshi," the ACP said.
ACP Yadav said Qureshi was being interrogated in connection with the post. Yadav said Qureshi has been booked under Section 153 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (used against a person promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and also Section 67 of the Information Technology Act (transmitting obscene materials in electronic form).
Background
The Varanasi court-mandated survey work of the disputed Gyanvapi Mosque complex, which had been conducted for three days, was completed on Monday, 16 May.
After the videography survey of the mosque ended, the counsel representing the petitioners' side claimed that a Shivling had been found after water was drained out of a pond in the complex. The Varanasi district court subsequently ordered the district magistrate to seal the area where the alleged Shivling had been found and prohibited the entry of any person to the area.
On the other hand, a mosque management committee member challenged the claim, saying that the object found was part of the water fountain mechanism at the wazookhana, adding that the mosque management was not given a chance to present their argument before the court which issued the order to seal the area based on the claims made by the petitioners.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday had passed an interim order directing the area within the mosque where an alleged Shivling was said to be found to be protected and said that Muslims must not be restricted from entering and praying in the mosque.
What Is the Case?
The location of the Gyanvapi Mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi is adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. It is believed that it was built in the 17th century after the demolition of an existing Vishweshwar temple.
Some are of the opinion that the original lingam of the erstwhile Vishweshwar temple was hidden away in the adjoining Gyanvapi well during a raid by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
The court, in April this year, ordered a video inspection of the site after five women affiliated with the right-wing group Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh filed petitions saying they were entitled to have daily darshan, puja, and perform rituals at the site of Maa Shringar Gauri, Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanuman, and other "visible and invisible deities within the old temple complex."
However, the survey could not take place as the mosque committee opposed videography inside the mosque, accused Advocate Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra of bias, and demanded his replacement.
The Varanasi court on Thursday, 12 May, ordered that the survey work would continue and, instead of replacing Mishra, appointed two more lawyers – Vishal Kumar Singh and Ajay Singh – to accompany him. The survey work had begun on Saturday.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)