Plea filed in Delhi HC against arrests linked to 'I Love Muhammad' posters
New Delhi (PTI): The Muslim Students Organisation of India (MSO) and Raza Academy, a Sunni group, have moved Delhi High Court challenging multiple FIRs and arrests made in connection with 'I Love Muhammad' posters, which they claimed were "expressions of devotion".
The PIL claimed that the FIRs were "communal in nature" and violated their "fundamental rights".
The FIRs were lodged at various places, including Kaiserganj and Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, against "ordinary citizens from the Muslim community who merely sought to celebrate their religious festivals and express their devotion to god by way of posters, banners, and peaceful gatherings", the petitioners claimed.
"However, without any cogent or independent evidence, they have been framed in multiple criminal cases by members of the majority community, who levelled allegations of rioting, criminal intimidation, and breach of peace against them," the petition said.
It added that the FIRs were communal in nature and appeared to have been lodged with the sole object of "criminalising the religious expression of a minority group".
The genesis of the controversy dates back to September 9 when police in Kanpur filed an FIR against nine named and 15 unidentified persons for allegedly installing boards with "I Love Muhammad" written on them on a public road during a Barawafat procession.
Hindu groups objected to it, calling it "deviation from tradition" and a "deliberate provocation”.
The row later drew the attention of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who asserted that saying "I Love Muhammad" was not a crime.
The controversy soon spread across several districts of Uttar Pradesh and to states like Uttarakhand and Karnataka, sparking protests and police crackdowns.
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Leopard that killed 8-year-old boy caught after weeks in Thane
Thane (PTI): Forest officials on Sunday captured a leopard that mauled an eight-year-old child to death nearly a month ago in Shahapur of Maharashtra’s Thane district.
The predator walked into one of the cages set up in the area late Saturday night, ending weeks of panic in several villages in the region, an official from the Dolkhamb division of the forest department said.
"The captured leopard will undergo a thorough medical examination before any further decision is taken regarding its relocation or release," he said.
Senior inspector Suresh Gavit from the Kasara police station confirmed the development, stating that the forest department had successfully secured the animal.
Following the news of the capture, a video surfaced on social media showing a large crowd of villagers, including children, cheering and following the vehicle carrying the caged leopard.
The capture comes as a major relief to the area, which had been on edge since April 16, when the big cat killed an eight-year-old boy.
Krishna Bhaga Agiwale, a resident of Kalbhonde in the Kasara range, had ventured into a forest patch near his house to collect wild fruits when the leopard pounced on him, dragged him into the thicket and killed him on the spot.
