Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested a Muslim student for allegedly offering namaz in an open area of a private university in Meerut after he was subjected to a hate campaign by Hindutva groups and university action.
Khalid Mewati was arrested following protests by local Hindu groups over a purported video surfaced around Holi celebrations this week that showed a group of students offering namaz on the university campus, PTI news agency reported.
The university administration suspended Khalid and three security personnel over the incident and called for police and administrative action against the Muslim student.
Khalid was sent to jail.
On Saturday, SHO of Ganga Nagar police station Anoop Singh said to the news agency that the case was lodged based on a complaint by one Kartik Hindu.
A case has been filed under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, he said.
Before the police action, IIMT University spokesperson Sunil Sharma said an internal investigation found that namaz was offered in an open area and its video was uploaded to “disrupt communal harmony.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
