On Wednesday (20th March) Navghar Police Station in Mumbai’s Mira Road region booked an individual identified as Mujahid Sheikh for derogatory, hateful posts targeting Hindu religious beliefs. The accused is also said to have insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi by calling him ‘Satyanashi Baba’ (annihilator).
The accused Mujahid Sheikh used the photograph of the Hindu saint ‘Guru Swami Samarth’ and replaced its face with that of PM Modi. The same photograph was published by the accused on his Facebook page with the caption ‘Swami Satyanashi Maharaj’. The accused through the post indicated that PM Modi was an annihilator. He also directly attempted to hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus by using the image of Hindu saint Swami Samarth that is worshipped in many Hindu households.
The Navghar Police station at Vasai Virar region filed a police complaint against the accused under sections 153A, 295A of the Indian Penal Code and section 66C of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The said complaint was booked after the BJP MLA Geeta Jain from the Mira Road region issued a letter directing strict action against the accused. “The accused has caused insult to the great Hindu saint Swami Samarth by distorting his image. Swami is one of the greatest Hindu saints worshipped by many in Maharashtra. Further, he has not only insulted the Hindu Lord but also PM Modi by calling him an annihilator,” the letter by Jain read.
Further, the BJP MLA sought action against the accused under sections 124, 124A, 153A, 295A, 500, 504, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and sections 66 and 67 of the IT Act, 2000.
OpIndia has obtained the FIR copy in the case. The complainant in the complaint mentioned that the accused has hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community by insulting Lord Swami Samarth and PM Modi. The FIR in the case has been filed under section 153A, 295A of the Indian Penal Code and section 66C of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Notably, BJP MLA Geeta Jain while exclusively talking to OpIndia mentioned that the accused is a repeat offender and that he has been creating chaos in the Mira Road region in the past too.
“This is not the first time that Mujahid Sheikh has insulted the Hindus. He keeps on doing it often. The communal situation in Mira Road has just calmed down and someone from a specific community doing something like this is very serious. He has insulted Swami Samarth primarily and also PM Modi, both of these things are highly condemnable. Strict action in this case needs to be taken,” Jain said.
Team OpIndia contacted the Police to learn more about the case. PI Patil of the Navghar Police Station informed that the accused has been booked but efforts are being made to execute his arrest. The Police meanwhile also informed that the said controversial post has been taken down by the accused.
Investigations in the case are underway.
Mira Road has been communally sensitive
It is important to note that the Mira Road region in Mumbai is a Muslim-dominant area and has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The Police recently caught 8 illegal Rohingya Muslims from the coastal area of Uttan near Bhayandar. The 8 accused persons originally from Myanmar were charged under the Foreigners Act as well as Passport Entry in India Rules for illegally entering the country.
In June 2023, massive controversy erupted in the capital city of Maharashtra after one of the Muslim families living in a society on Mira Road, Mumbai brought two goats a day ahead of Bakrid (Bakra-eid, Eid-Ul-Adha). The society members happened to refuse the Muslim family to get the goats inside the society premises for slaughter and said that they wouldn’t allow any kind of slaughtering activity within the society premises. However, chaos erupted after the Muslim family claimed that they were harassed by the society members.
In the second crucial incident that was reported recently in January 2024, the Islamists attacked Hindus with stones, iron rods, sticks, and bamboo, leaving over a dozen people who participated in rallies to commemorate the return of Lord Ram in Ayodhya injured.
In the incident reported from Mira Road, Mumbai, Islamists also disrespected the Hindu religion and hurt the Hindu religious sentiments by tearing flags bearing images of Lord Hanuman. Islamists are also said to have vomited over the flags causing disrespect to the Hindu faith.
Recently, OpIndia also recorded 15 brutal cases of forceful conversion and community crimes from the Mira Road region in the past year. Hindus, especially the women in the region have been deliberately harassed and then forced to convert their religion to Islam. OpIndia accounted for 15 such cases. The detailed analysis of these reports can be read here.