The Gujarat police have arrested 9 people for vandalising two shops belonging to Hindus in Rajkot, Gujarat on Dec 31, 2024. The attackers had also illegally evicted the shop owners, claiming the shops to be Wawf property. The arrested accused include the trustee of Nawab Mosque in the Danapith area in the city. The miscreants had vandalised the shops next to a mosque claiming them to be Waqg properties, and asked the shopowners to vacate the establishments.
The arrested individuals include Nawab Mosque’s trustee Farooqbhai Ibrahimbhai Musani, Zakirbhai Habibbhai Musani, Gafarbhai Satarbhai Alani, Irfanbhai Abdulbhai Solanki, Fareedbhai Tayabbhai Shikar, Yunusbhai Haji Bhai Musani, Ameenbhai Mahmoodbhai Chauhan, Ikbalbhai Kamalbhai Setani, and Sarfaraz Mahmadbhai Sheikh.
The Hindu traders have been given back the possession of the shops by the police. Minister of State for Home, Industries, Transport and Youth & Sports, Harsh Sanghavi shared the development on Twitter.
सभी दुकानें खुल गई हैं और आरोपियों को गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया है।
— Harsh Sanghavi (@sanghaviharsh) January 3, 2025
हम आपकी सहायता के लिए हमेशा तैयार हैं।
हम किसी भी अवैध गतिविधि के कारण लोगों को परेशान नहीं होने देंगे। https://t.co/bfbtpBxhdm pic.twitter.com/9ONIhxYEZW
What was the incident?
A group of 25 people including one Farooq Musani, trustee of Nawab Masjid, had broken into two shops belonging to Hindu traders on the night of December 31, 2024. They vandalised the shops and threw the merchandise on the street. The shops located in the Old Danapith area of Rajkot were claimed to be Waqf properties by the accused. Farooq Musani was carrying a Gujarat State Waqf Board order instructing the shops to be transferred to the mosque. “The Waqf Board has ordered that your shop, which is under an old rent agreement, must be vacated,” he had told the shopowners.
However, one of the traders, Virendrabhai Kalyanjibhai Kotecha, approached the police and lodged a complaint against the illegal eviction. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case and arrested nine individuals.
An FIR was lodged at the Rajkot A-division police station on 1st January the complaint of victim traders under sections 189(3), 190, 329(3) and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2024. The arrested trustee said that they will go ahead with the legal process to take over the shops as waqf property.
