Usmani will soon be arrested over Elgar speech: Maha home minister

MUMBAI: Former Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student leader Sharjeel Usmani will soon be arrested for his alleged provocative speech at the second Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune last week, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said on Wednesday.

“Police have investigated the video clippings of the Elgar event held on January 30 in Pune and have registered a case against Sharjeel Usmani. He is not in Maharashtra currently but we will arrest him from whichever state he is in, be it Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat or elsewhere,” the minister told reporters.

On Tuesday, an FIR was registered under section 153(A) (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion etc) of the Indian Penal Code following a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) general secretary and advocate Pradeep Gawade at Swargate police station.

“Yes, a case has been registered under Section 153(a) of IPC based on a complaint by advocate Pradeep Gawade over a speech made at Elgar Parishad. The case is registered at Swargate police station. A probe is underway,” Pune Police commissioner Amitabh Gupta said.

Former chief minister and leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis had warned the state government of a statewide agitation if the former student leader was not arrested. In a letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday, Fadnavis had questioned the permission granted to organise the conclave. BJP leaders have also demanded that the organisers of the Elgar Parishad be booked for sedition.