FIR against religious preacher after his inflammatory speech goes viral

The speech was delivered at an event held on an open ground near the 'B' division police station here on the night of January 31, said SP Harshad Mehta

Junagadh: Two persons were arrested by Junagadh police in Gujarat on Saturday after a video of an inflammatory speech allegedly delivered by an Islamic preacher went viral on social media.

Police were trying to trace the preacher, Mumbai resident Mufti Salman Azhari, said Superintendent of Police Harshad Mehta.

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The speech was delivered at an event held on an open ground near the ‘B’ division police station here on the night of January 31, he said.

After the video went viral, a First Information Report was registered against Azhari and local organizers Mohammad Yousuf Malek and Azim Habib Odedara under Indian Penal Code sections 153B (promoting enmity between different religious groups) and 505 (2) (making statements conducive to public mischief), the SP said.

“We have arrested Malek and Habib while efforts are on to nab Azhari. The arrested men had taken permission from police for the gathering stating that Azhari will speak about religion and spread awareness about de-addiction. But he made an inflammatory speech,” the official added.