Islamic scholar Mufti Salman Azhari has been granted bail in all the cases registered in Gujarat, but Junagadh Police have now booked him under the PASA Act, resulting in his detention at Vadodara Jail, according to his official social media account.
Azhari, the influential Muslim leader, who has been booked under Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA) in Gujarat was shifted from Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad to Vadodara Central Jail late on Thursday night under heavy police deployment as supporters gathered in big numbers outside the Vadodara Central Jail.
As soon as he was released on bail on Thursday evening from the Sabarmati jail, Azhari was detained in Modasa by the Junagadh local Crime Branch under the PASA Act, based on a warrant issued against him by the Junagadh district collector.
Azhari was arrested in Mumbai on 5 February following his speech in Gujarat’s Junagadh on 31 January. Subsequently, Kutch East police registered a case and arrested him on February 8 for delivering a ‘provocative speech’ in Samakhiyari village in Kutch district on 31 January.
Earlier, Azhari had been granted bail in cases registered against him in Junagadh and Kutch. In both instances, he faced charges under Indian Penal Code sections 153B (promoting enmity between different religious groups) and 505 (2) (making statements conducive to public mischief).
In the Modasa case, in addition to IPC sections 153 (B) and 505 (2), the Muslim leader was also charged under section 298 for uttering words with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person. The police had also invoked the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as the police claims he made derogatory remarks against the SC community in his speech.
