Hyderabad: Suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh from Goshamahal constituency was arrested for the second time on Thursday. Singh was arrested under the Preventive Detention Act (PD Act) for his derogatory comments against Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad in a Youtube video.
The city police arrested T Raja Singh three days after multiple cases were filed against him, especially for making remarks against Prophet Muhammad in a Youtube video leading to massive protests across Hyderabad.
Last December, Telangana IT minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) invited standup comic Munawar Faurqui to perform in the city. The invitation was extended to comedian Kunal Kamra as well. Both the artists had their shows cancelled in Bengaluru prior to that. KTR offered them an invitation, adding that here their shows “will not be cancelled”, taking a dig at the BJP. Eight months later, Munawar Faruqi took up his offer and the date was set for August
Post his arrest on Thursday, Raja Singh was taken to Gandhi Hospital for a medical checkup.
- Where it all began
- Munawar Faruqui’s Show
- Raja Singh placed under house arrest
- Raja Singh passed derogatory comments on Prophet
- Protests erupted in Hyderabad
- Raja Singh booked
- Raja Singh was arrested and bailed on same day
- Raja Singh suspended from BJP
- Raja Singh was arrested again
- Raja Singh’s comment prior to the arrest
Where it all began
On August 11, Raja Singh threatened to stop stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui’s show which was scheduled to be held in Hyderabad on August 20. While Faruqui was scheduled to perform in January of this year, BJP leaders alleged that the comedian had hurt the sentiments of Hindus by making jokes about Hindu gods and as such should not be allowed to perform.
Munawar Faruqui’s Show
On August 19, one day earlier before Munawar Faruqui’s show, Raja Singh was trying to ‘burn down the set at Shilpakala Vedika, where the comedian’s show was supposed to take place. Meanwhile, the city police took him into custody.
Raja Singh placed under house arrest
On August 20, on the day of the show, Raja Singh was placed under house arrest by the Hyderabad police on Friday. Amid heightened security, the Cyberabad police took into custody 20 workers of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha when they tried to disrupt the show of standup comedian Munawar Faruqui at Shilpakala Vedika on Saturday evening.
Raja Singh passed derogatory comments on Prophet
On 21 August, after Munawar Faruqui’s show was concluded, Raja Singh posted a Youtube video on Jai Shree Ram Channel Telangana (now made private) in which he passed several derogatory comments against Muslims and Prophet Muhammad.
After his video surfaced protests erupted in Hyderabad City. Meanwhile, Munawar Faruqui thanked Hyderabad Police for providing security during the show.
At the end of the video, Raja Singh said that whatever he uttered was “comedy”.
Protests erupted in Hyderabad
On 22 August, Protests erupted and people demanded Raja Singh’s arrest outside city police commissioner CV Anand’s office, and continued on Tuesday. The South Zone police on early Tuesday morning registered an FIR against the Goshamahal BJP MLA for his ‘blasphemous’ remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
It came after scores of people took to the streets demanding action against him. Following that, police filed an FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for hate-mongering.
Raja Singh booked
Raja Singh was booked under sections like 153-A, 188, 295-A, 298, 505(1) (B) (C), 505(2), 506, 504, etc of the Indian Penal Code. On Wednesday, the Hyderabad police also closed down all the petrol pumps and shut down shops by 8 pm in the old city.
Raja Singh was arrested and got bail same day
On 23 August, Raja Singh was arrested by Hyderabad Police. After a few hours of his arrest, he was released on bail by the Nampally Court due to lapses in police procedure.
Several shops in various markets of Hyderabad remained closed during the day. During protests that once again sparked up overnight, over 40 people were taken into police custody.
On August 24, after photographs of Raja Singh celebrating his release went viral on social media, protests erupted once again at several places, with protestors demanding his arrest.
BJP suspends Raja Singh membership
Amidst the protests, BJP suspended Raja Singh from its membership for his remarks, stating that he violated party rules. He was also asked to show cause within 10 days as to why he should not be expelled from the party.
Up till Wednesday, a total of eight cases were booked against Singh at Mangalhat, Malakpet, Nampally, Dabeerpura, Chaderghat, Amberpet, Afzalgunj, and Rajendranagar police stations.
Raja Singh arrested again
On August 25, Raja Singh was arrested once again under the Preventative Detention (PD) Act for his remarks after several protests erupted and many protesters were arrested.
Raja Singh’s comment prior to the arrest
Not afraid of bullets, hanging or jail
Just before his arrest, Raja Singh put out a video on Twitter saying that he is not afraid of ‘bullets, hanging, or jail and will keep fighting for the sake of ‘Dharma’.
“Just got the information that now or in the evening I will be arrested by the police. The chief minister has ordered the police to jail me by any means, even by digging out all the old cases. They want me to be banished or arrested by the PD act. I want to tell him that I am neither scared of bullets, hanging nor jail and I will keep fighting for the sake of Dharma. If somebody insults my God, I cannot accept it. Crores of Hindus will respond in the manner that they understand,” he said.
| 
