Gujarat Police arrest Islamic preacher from Mumbai in hate speech case

The Gujarat Police have arrested Islamic preacher Mufti Salman Azhari from Mumbai in connection with an FIR registered against him for allegedly delivering a hate speech and are bringing him back to the state, an official said on Monday.

The speech was delivered at an event held on an open ground near the ‘B’ division police station in Gujarat’s Junagadh city on the night of January 31.

After a video of it went viral, an FIR was registered against Azhari and local organisers Mohammad Yousuf Malek and Azim Habib Odedara under Indian Penal Code sections 153B (promoting enmity between different religious groups) and 505 (2) (making statements conducive to public mischief), police said.