Amidst continuing tension over protests demanding the arrest of Telangana MLA Raja Singh for his remarks against Prophet Mohammed, the state of Telangana has moved the High Court challenging a lower court’s order rejecting his remand. After being arrested by the Hyderabad police on Tuesday, August 23, Raja Singh, who has since been suspended by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was granted bail by a local court the same evening. The court had accepted Raja Singh's lawyer's argument that the police did not issue a notice under Section 41A of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) to the accused before the arrest. Section 41A of the CrPC states that in cases where arrest of a person is not required, the police must issue a notice to the person if reasonable suspicion exists.
On Thursday, the state of Telangana filed a criminal revision petition in the High Court, challenging the order from the 14th additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM) court which rejected the police remand application for Raja Singh. The High Court is reportedly expected to hear the petition on Friday. Raja Singh was arrested following massive protests in parts of the city demanding his arrest, for his remarks against Islam and Prophet Mohammed. The Goshamahal legislator made the remarks in a video disparaging comedian Munawar Faruqui, whose show Raja Singh had earlier threatened to stop with violence. The video has since been taken down by YouTube.
With Raja Singh’s release on Tuesday night, protests began again in parts of the city. As protests continued in Shah Ali Banda on Wednesday, police were seen resorting to severe lathi-charge and many young men were detained from the neighbourhood. More than 90 young men were later released from the Kanchanbagh police station following intervention from leaders of the AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen). A few local residents of Shah Ali Banda alleged that non-local residents had resorted to stone-pelting on police personnel, for which local residents were wrongfully picked up with force and detained.
Meanwhile, Raja Singh claimed that he received two separate notices under CrPC Section 41A on Thursday, but dated August 24. The notices pertain to cases booked in February and April 2022, at Shahinayathgunj and Mangalhat police stations, for playing a provocative song during a Ram Navami procession, and for threatening voters in Uttar Pradesh who didn’t vote for the BJP. In new videos released on Thursday, Raja Singh said he has received information that he might be arrested in connection with some old cases soon. "I would like to tell Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao that I’m not afraid of bullets, the noose or being jailed. This is a dharma yuddh (war for dharma). We cannot tolerate if someone abuses our god. And those enemies who challenge our religion, they will get a response in the language that they understand, not just from Raja Singh, but from every Hindu in India,” he said.
AIMIM General Secretary Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri has written to Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy demanding expulsion proceedings against Raja Singh. The letter alleged that Raja Singh’s conduct had breached the House’s privileges, and noted that it was a pattern, citing several past incidents where the MLA had been booked for provocative comments and hate speech.