A Karnataka man has been arrested on charges of issuing death threats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, police sources said on Tuesday.
The accused has been identified as Anwar, a resident of Peruvai in Dakshina Kannada district, employed in a foreign country, according to the sources.
Speaking to TNM, a top police official in the district confirmed the arrest.
PTI reported he has been posting messages online against the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), police said.
He was allegedly spreading audio messages which had gone viral on WhatsApp groups provoking people to indulge in communal violence.
A complaint was registered in this regard at the Vittal Police Station by a man named Yathish, sources said. As per the complaint, in his messages, Anwar allegedly threatened to kill PM Modi and Amit Shah if Muslims were affected by the CAA and NRC.
The police source told TNM, “The complaint stated that an audio note recorded by the accused had gone viral. The audio allegedly says that there are crores of Muslims as well as Hindus in India. And that if all Muslims are forced to go to Pakistan, then all RSS supporter Hindus will be killed -- including Modi and Shah -- and only ‘good’ Hindus will live in India.”
“For this, he has been booked under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups). He has also accepted that he has said it,” the source added.
A police source said that the accused was working as a cab driver in Qatar. The audio was recorded in Qatar and he had started forwarding it again once he landed in India a couple of days ago. After the audio clip went viral, a complaint was filed and an arrest was made.
Police, who were tipped off about Anwar's visit to his hometown on January 6, arrested him.
(PTI Inputs)