Hate-Mongers Roam Free: Locals on Muslim Man's Arrest For Opposing Nanded Rally

At the rally, communally charged speeches were delivered by Hindutva hardliner Kalicharan and ex-BJP MLA Raja Singh.

(Trigger warning: Hate speech, abuse, description of violence.)

Suleman Ahmed Sheikh, 50, was arrested by the Biloli Police in Maharashtra's Nanded district on 5 April for allegedly "inciting" the youth from the Muslim community to oppose a rally where suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA T Raja Singh, known for giving communally charged speeches, was to be in attendance.

A week later, Suleman's cousin Waliuddin Sheikh told The Quint, "T Raja Singh has a history of making communally charged hate speeches. Look at his track record in Maharashtra alone. He went to so many districts and spewed venom against Muslims."

He added, "When we learnt that he and his toli are coming to Biloli, we knew what we were supposed to do. So, several concerned Muslims of the town got together and decided to take the complaint to the administration — the police, the District Collector. But look what happened. Instead of stopping him, they arrested one of us," Waliuddin said.

Waliuddin told The Quint that Suleman managed to secure a bail on Tuesday, 11 April, and will walk out of prison in a day's time.

What are the Charges Against Suleman Sheikh?

Suleman, a businessman and worker of the Congress party, along with one Azhar Qureshi, was named in the FIR and charged under sections 34 (criminal act done with common intention) and 505 (2) ((statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Sayed Mainuddin, 27, a resident of Biloli for 15 years, was also present at the meeting which Suleman addressed. He told The Quint, "Suleman only urged people to take the matter to the authorities, including the police, and the Collector. How is that a crime? In fact, the people who addressed the Sunday rally said things which are against India's Constitution. Why has no action been taken against them?"

While Suleman was produced in a local court and sent to a 14-day judicial custody, Azhar is yet to be arrested.

Speaking to The Quint, police inspector Anant Narute of the Biloli police station, said, "The police took suo moto action and registered an FIR in connection with this case. While Suleman is in judicial custody, we're still trying to locate Azhar Qureshi. He will be arrested soon."

'Aware of The Rally, Will Register an FIR Soon': Police

Meanwhile, the rally took place as scheduled on 9 April near the Mata Mandir area in the city and was addressed by Hindutva hardliner Abhijeet Dhananjay Saraag alias Kalicharan. T Raja Singh, on the other hand, expressed his inability to attend the rally and blamed "secular politicians" for the outrage.

"Due to some secular politicians, the Biloli rally, scheduled for 9 April, stands cancelled. We were preparing for this event for the last 40 days. I would like to thank all Hindu bravehearts who were working day and night to make this rally a success. We will come back stronger to organise a historic jan sabha in Biloli," Singh said in an Instagram post on 8 April, one day before the scheduled event.

He, however, recorded a video message for the people of Biloli, which was played at the event.

Inspector Narute told The Quint that the police is going through the footage of the event and an FIR will be registered soon. "We are aware of the rally that was conducted in Biloli on 9 April and are in process of filing an FIR," he said.

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Rampant Hate Speech at The Rally

At the 9 April rally, attended by hundreds of people, Kalicharan advocated for violence against the Muslim community and claimed that they're all "traitors and terrorists."

In video footage, accessed by The Quint, he alleged, "Those who slaughter cows and eat them can never be our brothers. Abdul loves his goat very much. He feeds it with cashews and nuts and then slaughters it on the day of Eid. All Muslims are Hindu converts but then they are brainwashed at madrasas."

While claiming that all terrorists are Muslims, Kalicharan praised the 'bulldozer justice' model.

"The world is fed up of Muslims because terrorists are only Muslims. Show me one terrorist who is not a Muslim," he claimed while making a case in favour of the need for a Hindu Rashtra.

It is pertinent to note that no FIR has been filed against Kalicharan for the hate speech at the 9 April rally yet nor has he been arrested.

In 2021, Kalicharan was arrested by the Chhattisgarh police for allegedly abusing Mahatma Gandhi and hailing his assassin Nathuram Godse during a ‘Dharam Sansad’ held in Raipur in December.

T Raja Singh, who wasn't present at the 9 April rally, addressed the crowd via a video message, in which he claimed that India will become a Hindu Rashtra by the year 2025-2026. "We need to take a pledge that we will all work together to make India a Hindu Rashtra. If we are successful in our mission, we will be able to stop cow slaughter, land jihad, and religious conversions. These traitors who encroach our lands and indulge in land jihad will be finished," he said.

Like Kalicharan, no FIR has been filed against T Raja Singh in connection to the 9 April rally yet.

He has been named in multiple FIRs in Maharashtra and Telangana under charges of attempting to disrupt communal harmony and giving provocative speeches.

In Maharashtra, FIRs have been registered against him in Mumbai, Latur, and Aurangabad under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, and language), 153B (punishment against imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration), 295A (punishment for acts that are intended to insult the region or religious beliefs of certain class of citizens), and 505 (spreading of false and mischievous news intended to upset the public tranquility), among others.

He was suspended from the BJP -- where he was an MLA from Hyderabad's Goshamahal constituency -- in August 2022 over his controversial remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

Why Was Suleman Sheikh Arrested?

As per the FIR filed at the Biloli Police Station, a video of Suleman addressing a gathering of people on 24 March went viral on social media.

The police complaint read that Suleman, while addressing the youth, said, “We will also request the district administration to help us in this and those who will not stand with us, we will also not cooperate with them."

It alleged that Suleman's speech “created a sense of insecurity and fear”.

The Quint accessed the two minute 50 second-long video.

Here's the full transcript: "T Raja Singh is scheduled to address a mass gathering in Biloli on 9 April near the Mata Mandir Parisar. We (people from the Muslim community, especially the youth) have gathered here to stop this rally from happening.

His speech will be so venomous that it has the potential to create tensions not just in Biloli but in the entire district of Nanded and the state of Maharashtra and in fact, in the entire country. This could cause riots. To stop this, five of us, workers of the Congress, are standing before you.

We will speak to our Santosh Kulkarni (local Congress leader), and on his letter head, we will submit an application to the SP office, the Collector's office, the police station, the tehsildar's office and will urge them to stop this rally.

If they, however, do not support us in this, we will not support them in anything in the future. We will not attend any meeting and do as we please. If the Congress party doesn't do anything, we will quit the party also. To submit the memorandum tomorrow, our MLA Jitesh Antapurkar, Nagar Adhyakh Santosh Kulkarni will accompany us."

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