Two booked for outraging religious sentiments over social media post on Aurangzeb | Mumbai news

Navi Mumbai: Two persons were booked for outraging religious sentiments and spreading enmity after allegedly glorifying Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb through social media posts. The cases were filed by the Uran and Rabale police stations on Friday following complaints regarding the allegedly provocative content.

In the first case, Uran police registered an FIR based on a complaint by Siddesh Hemant Shinde, a local gym owner. The accused, Arif Abdul Wahid Qureshi, 24, a chicken seller residing in Chanje, Uran, allegedly posted an image of Aurangzeb on his Instagram account on March 20 at around 10:30pm. The image carried the text, “Aurangzeb Alamgir,” with the caption “King of Hindustan.”

“This post led to the hurting of religious sentiments, prompting the registration of a case,” said senior inspector Jitendra Misal. Further investigation revealed that Qureshi had previously uploaded a picture of himself holding a sword on October 4, 2020, which was deemed a legal violation. As a result, he has been booked under section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), along with section 4, 25 of the Indian Arms Act for unauthorised possession of arms.

In the second case, Rabale police registered an FIR against Rafique Qureshi for allegedly posting a status update on March 19 glorifying Aurangzeb. The complaint was filed by Tejas Yashwant Patil, 31, a resident of Ghansoli village.

“The accused have been served with notices as per the law,” said an investigating official. The case has been registered under section 196 (promoting enmity) and section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the BNS.