Secunderabad temple row: Case against motivational speaker, others for provoking hatred between communities

Gopalapuram police booked motivational speaker Munawar Zama and hotel staff for promoting hatred and inciting riots and sealed the Metropolis Hotel during the investigation

Hyderabad: The Gopalapuram police booked a case against motivational speaker Munawar Zama apart from Abdul Rasheed Basheer Ahmed and Rehman, owner and manager of Metropolis Hotel in Secunderabad, for allegedly outraging feelings and provoking hatred between communities.

According to the police, Munawar Zama, a Mumbai-based motivational speaker allegedly not only promoted enmity between different groups on religious grounds, but also provoked participants to cause riots.

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Due to his provocative speeches, Salim Salman Thakur alias Salman, the prime suspect in the Secunderabad temple desecration had damaged the idol of the goddess. Officials said Salman was among the 151 people who lodged in the hotel and attended a month-long personality development workshop conducted Munawar Zama.

Based on a complaint from a Sub-inspector, a case was booked for deliberate insult or outrage of religious feelings, malicious provocation with the intent to incite a riot, promoting enmity and hatred between different groups based on various grounds, disobeying orders from public servants that can lead to obstruction or danger and abetment to commit a crime of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).

Meanwhile, the police on Thursday sealed the hotel and are also scrutinizing the conference recordings, material distributed to participants, and several other details.