On Sunday, July 3, a shopkeeper named Talib Hussain was arrested for selling chicken wrapped in paper bearing images of Hindu deities. He is also charged with attacking the police officers who reached his shop to arrest him. The incident came to the fore after some locals complained to the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district.
The Sambhal police have taken to Twitter to inform about the same.
According to the Police, the action was taken after some locals complained that their religious sentiments were hurt due to Hussain’s action.
When the police reached Hussain’s shop to investigate the matter and arrest him, he reportedly attacked the police team with a sharp knife. The police, however, overpowered him and nabbed him. The FIR filed against him read that Talib Hussain attacked the cops with an intention to kill.
The accused has been booked under IPC Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 307 (attempt to murder).
The police are currently investigating the matter in detail.
Prevailing communal tensions and killings over ‘blasphemy’ after Mohammed Zubair’s dog-whistling against Nupur Sharma
The incident occurred amidst prevailing communal tensions that flared after Mohammed Zubair of Alt News dog-whistled against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her comments on Prophet Muhammad derived from authentic Islamic Hadiths. Since then, Islamists across the country and those in the Gulf have fulminated against the beleaguered leader, calling for her beheading for what they perceived to be ‘blasphemy’.
At least two individuals—Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe—have had their throats slit for merely extending support to Nupur Sharma on social media in protest against the death threats and unwarranted hounding she had been receiving for standing up against insults meted out on her faith and its Gods.