Shamli police in Uttar Pradesh lodged an FIR on Sunday, July 7, against journalists Zakir Ali Tyagi and Waseem Ali Tyagi and three others for tweeting about the alleged lynching of a Muslim man two days ago.
On July 5, Feroz Qureshi, a scrap worker with no criminal record, was beaten to death over allegations of theft in the Jalalabad town of Shamli district. After his family protested, an FIR against three persons – Pankaj, Pinky and Rajendra – was lodged.
A post about the lynching was also shared by Thana Bhawan MLA, Ashraf Ali Khan. The MLA represents Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), an ally of the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.
Journalists Zakir Ali Tyagi and Waseem Akram Tyagi also tweeted about Feroz’s death and the recent sharp rise of Muslim lynchings ever since Modi 3.0 came to power on June 4. The others mentioned in the FIR are Asif Rana, Saif Allahbadi and Ahmad Raza Khan.
According to Shamli police, Zakir and Waseem’s tweets encouraged communal disharmony. The police have invoked BNS Section 196 (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and Section 353 (Statements conducing to public mischief).
In a police statement, it is alleged that Feroz’s death is not related to the lynching. “It was also informed earlier that it is clear from the post-mortem report that the cause of death was not assault. The deceased had entered the accused’s house drunk. Despite this, the incident has been deliberately posted on social media as mob lynching to spread communal hatred. In the registered FIR, action will be taken as per the PM report. Appropriate FIR has also been registered against malicious posts and legal action will be ensured,” the statement read.
The statement added that the journalists’ tweets were made with the sole intention to create communal unrest in the region.
Speaking to Siasat.com, Zakir Ali Tyagi said he is ready to fight the case legally. “If I had tweeted a fake news the allegations make sense. But that is not the case. I tweeted about a lynching case that happened in Samli two days ago. I will fight this legally,” he said.
“Government and the police want Muslims to be lynched on a daily basis and no reporter or citizen is supposed to raise voice against it,” Zakir added.
Siasat.com tried to reach the superintendent of police but received no response. This story updated with the police statement when received.
Meanwhile, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi responded to the news by stating the new criminal laws are used to null the voice of truth speakers.
Taking on X, he said, “This is why I had opposed the new criminal laws in Lok Sabha. They are meant to be “misused” against those who speak the truth.”
