Jamia Shooter Calls for Violence & Incites Hate But Police is Yet to Act on It
The Jamia shooter is back in the headlines for the communal speeches made at Pataudi police station.
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He calls himself 'Godse' on his social media profiles. The analogy is a chilling reminder to a viral photo of this 17-year-old teen from Jewar, clicked while he shot at a Jamia Milia Islamia student at the anti-CAA protest on the 30 January 2020. He fired the bullet while shouting, "Yeh lo azaadi".
That photograph, where one could see the Delhi Police standing in the background while the teen fired a bullet, had let to wide criticism of the police's inaction to stop the gunman from injuring a Jamia student protester. The shooter was sent to jail but let off on bail in a matter of months. Right after arresting him, the police said he is a minor.
The shooter, (The Quint couldn't independently confirm if he has become an adult now hence decided to withhold the identity), now flaunts that same photograph as his profile picture on Instagram and Facebook, brags of firing bullets in edited videos with high-pitched background music.
He was recently seen giving a communally-charged speech at a mahapanchayat organised on 4 July in Haryana's Pataudi to discuss several 'Hindutva issues', including 'Love Jihad'. This gathering of over hundred men, led by Karni Sena leader and Haryana BJP spokesperson, Suraj Pal Amu, who is known to frequently make incendiary remarks
When his turn comes, the teenager picks up the mic and openly calls for the abduction of Muslim women and raises the slogan, "Jab Mulle Kaate Jaayenge Ram Ram Chillaayenge". In the comment section, people are cheering that yes we will kill Muslims. In another video, he asks police to leave them free to do anything for just 5 minutes.
These videos are posted by him on his social media accounts but Haryana Police, has so far failed to take any cognisance of the hate speech and insinuation of the violence at the Pataudi mahapanchayat, by the Jamia shooter and others.
After Being Sent a Complaint, Haryana Police Says 'Not Received Any'
After the videos of the incident went viral, activist Saket Gokhale wrote on Twitter that he has filed a complaint against the hate speech made by the Jamia shooter and it would be escalated to DCP Manesar.
When The Quint called the Pataudi police station, an officer disconnected the call before identifying himself, said he has received "no complaints."
Talking to ANI, Manesar DCP Varun Singla said, "A Mahapanchayat was organised by heads of 3-4 villagers including Suraj Pal Amu in Pataudi on Sunday where religious conversion was the agenda. 500-600 people took part in this meeting where a number of speeches were given. So far, we've not received any complaints."
When The Quint called the DCP to ask if it has taken cognisance of Gokhale's complaint, he said, "No comments."
Saket Gokhale, had also written to Delhi Police Commissioner and Juvenile Justice Board to revoke the bail granted to the shooter, on counts that he is not repentant of his crime and still poses a threat, as is clear from his social media accounts. Gokhale said he has not received any response from either.
Despite trying to contact the Delhi Police Commissioner and Delhi Police PRO multiple times over the issue, The Quint has not received a response from them yet. The story will be updated as and when the police responds.
Jamia Shooter Regularly Posts Hate on Social Media
A glance at the Jamia shooter's social media profiles shows he regularly posts content that violate community guidelines of the respective platforms. His posts mostly revolve around 'Gau Raksha' and 'Love Jihad'
But, so far there has been no action taken against any of the posts.
After the Pataudi video went viral, his Instagram profile has been removed but his Facebook and Twitter accounts remain active. In a video posted on Thursday on Twitter, the shooter asks his "Hindu brothers" to stand with him for making the Pataudi mahapanchayat a success by trending the hashtag "#wesupport*************".
On 3 July, a day before the mahapanchayat, the shooter announced that he would be attending to the gathering to make people aware of 'Love Jihad', in a Facebook Live with a man called RB Gurjar, who says he is working for the Hindutva cause.
In the video, he asks if Hindu men have become so weak that they can't protect their daughters and sisters from Muslims. He asks "Hindu men" to not just act but to create a havoc.
In 2020 January before he showed up at Jamia, he had made his intentions quite clear on social media.
About 30 minutes before he fired the shot, he posted saying “Azaadi De Raha Hu (Giving them freedom)."
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