Hyderabad activist booked under PD Act for hate social media posts

HYDERABAD: Abdahu Quadri Kashaf, a 27-year-old activist, was charged under the PD Act on Tuesday for promoting hatred between two religious groups. He is being held in Central Prison in Chanchalguda, Hyderabad after the P.D order was carried out against him by the Cyber Crimepolice, CCS, Detective Department of Hyderabad on August 30, 2022.

According to Hyderabad police, Syed Abdahu Quadri frequently posted inflammatory and provocative tweets and videos on social media using his Twitter account with the intention of inciting animosity between different religious groups, disturbing communal peace and disturbing public harmony.

On the intervening night of August 23 and 24, Kashaf, along with his supporters, protested outside the police commissioner's office in Basheerbagh, Hyderabad, on the nights of August 23 and 24, in response to remarks made in an alleged offensive video posted by BJP MLA T. Raja Singh on Shree Ram Channel. They even demanded Singh's arrest.

Hundreds of young Muslim men gathered to protest outside the police commissioner's office upon reading his social media posts. He reportedly incited the use of derogatory slogans such as "Naare Takbeer Allah Hu Akbar-Gustak-e-Rasool ki ek hi saza, sar tan se juda," asserting that beheading is the sole punishment for offending the Prophet,

adversely affecting the maintenance of public order.

According to Hyderabad police, public order was disturbed throughout the nation as a result of this video and its slogans being broadcast on national television networks and social media platforms. Kashaf's provocative and inciting slogans during the protest programme drew the attention of the young Muslim boys, sparking widespread protests and violent incidents throughout the city.

According to reports, there have been violent incidents within the boundaries of the police stations in Moghalpura, Shahinayathgunj, Bhavaninagar, and Hussainialam where protesters have attacked a hotel vendor and a private cab driver and destroyed a police car. People panicked and closed their businesses after sensing danger to their lives and property at the hands of the protestors. The police said his actions terrified and shocked the entire city and state.

According to Hyderabad police, Kashaf instilled hatred against religious groups through his provocative messages and videos on social media platforms, causing widespread unrest among people within the jurisdiction of the Hyderabad City Police Commissionerate and in other parts of the country, negatively impacting public order.

He has been charged with four offences in the Hyderabad Police Commissionerate, three of which are related to inciting hatred between Muslims and Hindus, as detailed in Cr.Nos.1) 1520/2022 u/s 153(A), 505(2), and 504 IPC of Cyber Crime Police Station, CCS, Detective Department, Hyderabad for staging a protest outside Hyderabad City at Basheerbagh with a large number of his supporters.