Pune: Sharjeel Usmani arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments

A visual from Elgar Parishad 2021 | Pic via Gaurav Sarkar

Sharjeel Usmani, an alumnus of the Aligarh Muslim University has been booked by Pune police for allegedly hurting religious sentiment during the Elgar Parishad event. Former chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadanvis had alleged that state government had not taken any action despite Usmani hurting the religious sentiment of Hindus during his speech in the event.

After Fadanvis attacked government for shielding Usmani, the Pune police have registered FIR under section 153 (A) (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony). The development was confirmed by Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta.

The FIR was registered at Swargate Police station in Pune based on the complaint received from BJP's Yuva Morcha leader Pradip Gawade.

The event was organised on last Saturday; eminent novelist Arundhati Roy, former IPS officer S M Mushrif, former Bombay High Court judge B G Kolse-Patil, and Usmani attended the same.