The Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday arrested Mohammad Zafar, Sameer Ali and Ali Raza for raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans during an Eid-e-Milad procession in Noida’s Sector 8 on Tuesday.
The police had launched a probe into the matter after a 13-second video of the procession where pro-Pakistani slogans were raised, went viral on social media.
The video clip shows a group of people holding various Islamic flags. The Indian tricolour was also seen being carried in the video. However, some members of the group, while raising pro-Pakistani slogans, were caught hitting the Indian flag with the Islamic flag in their hands.
Mohamad Zafar, Samir Ali & Ali Raza arrested by Nodia Police sector 20. They where Chanting “Pakistan Zindabad” during Eid Possession.
— Sameet Thakkar (@thakkar_sameet) October 20, 2021
Well Done @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/w4zjJdCKC0
Soon after this clip surfaced on social media, members from Vishwa Hindu Parishad alerted the Sector 20 police station and demanded immediate action against the perpetrators.
Talking about the incident, Uma Nandan Kaushik, zonal head of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Noida, said, “Some people raised ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans during the procession.”
“Someone captured the incident on mobile phone and shared the video with us. We then informed the police and demanded action against them,” he said further.
‘No connection with mosque’
Imam of Jama Masjid in Noida’s Sector 8, Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qasmi distanced himself from the incident. He claimed that the procession had nothing to do with the mosque or its organising committee.
“We were not part of the procession. We came to know that some people had organised the procession, which also had the permission of the police and the district administration. We do not know what happened in the procession,” said Qasmi.
‘Arrests made after consulting experts’
Reportedly, the police had sent the video to an expert team to ascertain the authenticity.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Rajesh S said, “We have sent the video to an expert team for further investigation, although, prima facie, it appears that the video is genuine. We scanned the video and arrested three persons for their alleged involvement in the sloganeering.”
“If one sees the complete video then one can see that ‘Hindustan Zindabad’ slogan was being raised but in between the miscreants raised ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan as well,” he added further.
An FIR has been filed against the accused at the Sector 20 police station under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code.
‘Pakistan Zindabad in Muharram procession’
The Madhya Pradesh police in the month of August this year had arrested six people and detained over ten for raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans during a Muharram procession in Ujjain.
Watch young Muslims raising pro-Pakistan slogans in Ujjain during the Muharram event. pic.twitter.com/Wrtxx4nKGR
— Newsum (@Newsumindia) August 21, 2021
The video of the procession where the crowd can be seen cheering for Pakistan had gone viral on social media.
