Indian expat from Karnataka faces jail for insulting Islam in UAE: Report
Dubai: An Indian expat in the UAE is facing police action for allegedly insulting Islam on social media in response to a Facebook post on the coronavirus, according to a media report.
Rakesh B Kitturmath, who worked as a team leader at Emrill Services, an integrated facilities management (FM) headquartered in Dubai, was sacked on Thursday after his post sparked an outrage on social media, the Gulf News reported.
Kitturmath's employment stands terminated with immediate effect. He will be handed over to Dubai Police. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards such hate crimes, said Stuart Harrison, CEO of Emrill Services.
"As an organisation, we have worked hard over the years to embrace diversity and create a culture of inclusion, where every nationality, religion and background is welcomed and celebrated. We have a strict social media policy for our employees to ensure they respect our values, both inside and outside of work," the newspaper quoted Harrison as saying.
Harrison said they are trying to find out if Kitturmath was still in the UAE, according to the report.
We have over 8,500 employees so this may take a while. That said, we have fired him. If he's still in the country, he will be handed over to Dubai Police, he said.
Originally from Ranebennuri, Karnataka, Kitturmath joins an ever growing list of Indian expats who have landed in trouble for alleged Islamophobic messages in recent days.
Earlier this week, Abu Dhabi resident Mitesh Udeshi was sacked for posting a cartoon mocking Islam on his Facebook page while a police complaint was filed against Sameer Bhandari of Future Vision Events & Weddings' in Dubai after he asked a Muslim job seeker from India to go back to Pakistan.
The UAE outlaws all religious or racial discrimination under a legislation passed in 2015.
The anti-discrimination/anti-hatred law prohibits all acts that stoke religious hatred and/or which insult religion through any form of expression, be it speech or the written word, books, pamphlets or via online media.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Hemant Karkare killed by RSS-linked cop, not Kasab: Maharashtra LoP Vijay Wadettiwar
BJP writes to ECI for action against Cong leader Wadettiwar for 'defaming' Ujjwal Nikam
Mumbai, May 5: The BJP has written to the Election Commission of India seeking action against Congress and the opposition leader, Vijay Wadettiwar, for allegedly peddling lies and defaming its Mumbai North Central nominee and ex-26/11 prosecution lawyer Ujjwal Nikam.
Wadettiwar, the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly, purportedly called Nikam an "anti-national" and accused him of hiding the information that then Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare wasn't killed by Kasab's bullet during the 26/11 terror attack, but fell to a bullet of a policeman affiliated to RSS.
His allegations were based on the book "Who Killed Karkare" written by retired police officer SM Mushriff.
"As a responsible leader, the opposition leader should desist from making such comments that can help the enemy nation," Nikam said.
Terming Wadettiwar's statements as "false and not based on facts", Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shekar claimed they were aimed at defaming Ujjwal Nikam and inciting emotions.
"We have written to the Election Commission of India seeking action against Wadettiwar who is a star campaigner (of Congress) and also against the Congress party for peddling lies," he added.
Shelar further said (Ajmal) Kasab was sentenced to death for killing innocent people after following a due process of law.
Kasab was the lone terrorist who was captured alive by Mumbai Police during the 26/11 terror attack by Pakistani terrorists in which at least 166 people were killed and several others were injured.
Shelar wondered whether Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray supported the statement made by the Congress leader.
A former special public prosecutor, Nikam had represented the state in high-profile cases like the Mumbai serial bomb blasts and the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
He is making his political foray from Mumbai North Central seat on a BJP ticket and is pitted against city Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad.
