Case against Yogi: FIR against complainant

Activist Pervez Parvaz is already serving jail sentence in a gang-rape case

GORAKHPUR: A local court, which is hearing a hate speech case against CM Yogi Adityanath, has ordered an FIR against the main complainant after the investigating agency told the court that a doctored video was submitted as evidence. Chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Nusrat Khan, ordered the police to lodge an FIR against activist Pervez Parvaz, who is already serving jail sentence in a gang-rape case lodged against him in June.

GORAKHPUR: A local court, which is hearing a hate speech case against chief minister Yogi Adityanath, has ordered an FIR against the main complainant after the investigating agency told the court that a doctored video was submitted as evidence.

Chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Nusrat Khan, ordered the police to lodge an FIR against activist Pervez Parvaz, who is already serving jail sentence in a gang-rape case lodged against him in June this year.

Parvaz had filed a petition against the then Gorakhpur MP Adityanath and four others, accusing Adityanath of giving hate speech and allegedly inciting communal violence in Gorakhpur after a person was killed during Muharram procession in 2007.

The case was handed over to the CB-CID and during investigation Parvaz had produced a DVD of the speech as evidence.

After the forensic test, CB-CID

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The court was appraised that the DVD was edited to show the content as hate speech, after which it passed an order to lodge an FIR against the complainant ASHOK KUMAR SINGH, counsel

submitted its final report, which was challenged by Parvaz in the high court.

However, the court rejected his plea and now the CJM ordered an FIR against Parvaz. Apart from Adityanath, BJP leader Shiv Pratap Shukla(now minister of state, finance), MLA Radha Mohan Das Aggarwal, Anju Chowdhary (former mayor and now member of women commission) and Dr YD Singh, former MLC, were also booked for 2007 riots, in which one person was killed and several others were injured.

“The court was apprised that the DVD was edited to show the content as hate speech, after which it passed an order to lodge an FIR against the complainant,” said Ashok Kumar Singh, who appeared for the petitioner.

SHO Cantonment Ravi Rai said the case will be lodged after the order of the court was received.

In 2007, Parvez Parvaz, who then worked as a journalist, and his associate Asad Hayat, had alleged in the police complaint that provocative speech by Adityanath led to the riot.

For all these years, the case was pending in court and the then SP government did not allow the prosecution of the accused persons.

Soon after the formation of the BJP government in May 2017, the chief secretary denied permission to prosecute the accused. Later, the Allahabad high court too rejected plea seeking permission to prosecute Adityanath.

Earlier this year, Parvaz and Hayat moved the Supreme Court demanding a probe by an independent agency.

On August 20, while hearing the case, the apex court asked the UP government as to why Adityanath should not be prosecuted. It asked the state government to submit its response in eight week.

Soon after, the case took a curious turn when Parvaz and his associate Jumman, a faith healer, were arrested after a local woman accused the duo of outraging her modesty. The charge was rejected by Parvaz who claimed he was being framed for fighting against injustice.

Interestingly, during initial investigations, the charges against Parvaz and Jumman were found to be fake and a closure report was also submitted to the court but it was rejected and a fresh investigation was ordered by the then SSP Shalabh Mathur.

In the fresh probe, the police claimed that there were corroborative evidence against the accused and the medical examination of the victim confirmed the sexual assault. He was subsequently sent to jail.