The Kolkata police Saturday said they have been cooperating with the Assam Police in efforts to arrest Wajahat Khan Qadri, who has been booked for hate speech for his alleged communal posts on social media and absconding. Khan’s complaint led to the arrest of law student and influencer Sharmishta Panoli for social media posts allegedly hurting religious sentiments.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Port Division, in a statement, clarified that they have been cooperating with the Assam Police and that rumours of an attack on the Assam Police were false.
“The Assam Police had requested assistance from the Garden Reach police station twice to conduct raids since their arrival. On both occasions, the local police station team accompanied them, and no attacks occurred during the raids. Also, no complaints were registered regarding these incidents. However, if any details of such allegations are provided, they will be investigated,” the Kolkata police statement said.
Khan, 30, who is the co-founder of the Rashidi Foundation, had been booked under the same sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as Panoli – 196(1) (a) promoting enmity between different groups, 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class of citizens), 352 (intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace), and 353(1)(c) (statements that incite public mischief). The FIR has been filed at the Golf Green police station based on a complaint of one Sujit Ghosh.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said a case was registered against Khan for allegedly making “unacceptable comments against Devi Maa Kamakhya”. The complaints against Qadri accuse him of posting “hate speech” on social media and making derogatory remarks that hurt religious sentiments. Meanwhile, a senior Kolkata police officer said that a team from the Assam Police is also looking for Qadri.
According to sources, a five-member team of the Assam Police visited the area where Qadri resides. According to police sources, Qadri was last seen in his locality on May 1. “Since then, his whereabouts remain unknown, and no missing person report has been filed by his family,” said a police officer.
According to sources, the police approached the Alipore police court to obtain an arrest warrant, but their petition was denied. However, this does not prevent them from arresting Qadri, as three notices have already been served to him, requiring him to appear before the Golf Green police.
A five-member team from the Assam Police arrived in Kolkata on June 4 with the intention of meeting Qadri’s father to inquire about his son’s whereabouts. However, they were unable to meet Saadaq Khan, Qadri’s father, as neighbours reported that he “was not at home”.
This comes at a time when the Delhi Police have also sought Kolkata police’s help to question Qadri.
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court vacation bench granted interim bail to Panoli on June 5. After her release on interim bail, her father Prithviraj Panoli told The Indian Express, “She is spending time with her family and covering her course backlogs for the last four weeks.”