Gujarat ATS has detained Maulana Qamar Gani Usmani from Delhi in connection to the murder case of Kishan Bharwad. Usmani is accused of abetting Kishan’s murderer Shabbir. Gujarat Police, on the other hand, have recovered the weapon used in the murder.

As per reports, Usmani had given an inflammatory speech and incited Shabbir to kill Kishan. Usmani is associated with Tahreek Farogh-e-Islami or TFI. Last year, he was arrested in the Tripura riots case as well. According to a report by News Nation, Shabbir has told Police that Usmani had told him that if he found anything blasphemous, it was his right to pick up weapons and take action. News Nation further added that Gujarat Police has claimed Usmani’s organization has links to Pakistani terrorist organization Tehreek-e-Labbaik.

Earlier, the pistol and bike used in Kishan’s murder were recovered in the area near Sir Mubarak Bukhari Dada dargah in Dhandhuka by Gujarat Police. Two suspects, Shabbir and Imtiyaz, helped the police in recovering the weapon and bike. As per reports, both of them used the bike as a mode of transport to kill Kishan. Shabbir fired the shot while Imtiyaz drove the bike. The weapon and ammunition were reportedly given by Maulvi Ayyub of Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur region. He was also arrested by the police.

Gujrat Police has also apprehended Vasim Sama, the brother of another accused Azim Bacha Sama from Morbi, who had supplied the Pistol.

Gujarat Police has also apprehended Wasim Sama and Zubair, the brothers of another accused Azim from Morbi, for interrogation. Maulvi, who resided in Ahmedabad, had got a pistol from Azim. However, as per local media reports, by the time police reached Thoral to arrest Azim, he had escaped. Two of his brothers, who police believe are also radicalized, are taken into custody and are being investigated.

Kishan, who was shot dead in Dhandhuka while riding his two-wheeler, had allegedly published a post on social media where he had added a picture of Prophet Muhammad. Kishan was killed as retaliation to this alleged blasphemous post on social media, for which he had later apologized on camera. Reportedly, Kishan had shared a video on social media which had an image of Prophet Muhammad. Sharing such an image is considered blasphemy and usually beheading, killing of people who share such an image is considered as justified punishment by Islamists. Therefore, even after Kishan had apologized, it was not deemed enough, and he was killed for the ‘blasphemy’.

Who is Maulana Qamar Gani Usmani?

Maulana Qamar Gani Usmani is the chief cleric of Tahreek-e-Farogh Islami or TFI. He was arrested in connection to the Tripura riots along with three associates in November 2021. He was booked under relevant sections of IPC and UAPA. He had spent 21 days in jail before getting bail in the case. After getting bail, Usmani said in a speech he never asked Allah to free him from jail. He said, “It was Allah’s grace that I got bail in 19 days even though people do not get bail even after six months if they are booked under UAPA.”

In February 2021, Usmani had justified the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari. He had said, “There is a conspiracy to ruin the lives of Muslims. There is an attempt to make India just like Spain. To achieve it, they are testing how much Muslims in India love their Prophet. This is why Kamlesh Tiwari was asked to do blasphemy. If you remember, that time people had come to roads to protest. There was fear someone would kill Tiwari, so he was sent to prison.”

He added it was not a punishment but an attempt to save Kamlesh Tiwari from getting killed. Tiwari was killed in cold blood in Lucknow on October 18, 2019.

Gujrat protest

A near-total shutdown was observed in the town on Thursday after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) called for a bandh to protest against the killing. A large posse of policemen led by senior officers has been deployed to avert law and order issues.

Kishan Bharwad is survived by a 20-day old daughter.

References:

opindia.com - OpIndia Staff