Hyderabad: A case has been registered against suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh and others over alleged intent to provoke breach of peace, in connection with a speech that he delivered during a procession held as part of Ram Navami festival on March 30, Hyderabad Police said on Sunday.
The FIR has been registered against Raja Singh and others at Shahinayathgunj Police Station under IPC sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (2) on Saturday, based on a complaint filed by a Sub-Inspector of Police who accused them of creating enmity and hatred among different religions.
The complainant alleged that when the procession led by Raja Singh reached Chudi Bazar on March 30, the MLA delivered a speech saying that Hindu Rashtra should be established in this country. After hearing his speech, some of his followers waved photos of Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse in the procession and also raised slogans with the intention to create enmity among public on the grounds of religion, the complaint said.
A case had already been booked against Raja Singh at Afzalgunj police station here on Saturday under IPC Sections 153 A (attack upon religion) and 506 (threat to cause death or grievous hurt) for allegedly making a provocative speech during the procession. Reacting to the cases registered against him, Raja Singh in a short video message said: "Case after case is registered. If I speak on Hindu Rashtra and love jihad...case is booked". He asked, "Did I name any religion or a person during the procession?".
Alleging that the cases were registered against him as part of a conspiracy to re-invoke the Preventive Detention (PD) Act against him, the legislator said he "doubts if Telangana is part of India or Pakistan". Raja Singh said he had been getting threatening calls saying his son "will be kidnapped" and that he had already complained to the police in this regard.
Earlier, videos purportedly showing Raja Singh during the procession had gone viral. In one of the videos, Raja Singh said that shrines would also come up in Mathura and Kashi, following the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, due to a "push". In another video, the suspended Goshamahal MLA administered a 'sankalp' (resolve) to a gathering in Hyderabad to make India an 'Akhand Hindu Rashtra'.
Following an uproar over his alleged remarks against Islam and Prophet Mohammed, the BJP had suspended Raja Singh from the party in August 2022. He had been booked over the remarks and was arrested but he later secured bail.
Raja Singh had been arrested under the Preventive Detention Act, but the Telangana High Court in November 2022 set aside the PD Act invoked against him. The BJP man, known for his strong Hindutva views, faces several police cases in Hyderabad, including those related to alleged communal offences. (PTI)
