Hyderabad: The Gopalapuram police booked a case against popular motivational speaker Munawar Zama and Abdul Rasheed Basheer Ahmed and Rehman, owner and manager respectively of Metropolis Hotel in Regimental Bazaar for allegedly outraging feelings and provoking hatred.
The police booked them under sections 299 (deliberate insult or outrage of religious feelings), 192 (malicious or wanton provocation with the intent to incite a riot), 196 (promoting enmity and hatred between different groups based on various grounds), 223 (disobeying orders from public servants that can lead to obstruction or danger) and 49 (abetment to commit a crime) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
The case was booked following a complaint made by a sub-inspector of Gopalapuram police station.
“Mumbai-based motivational speaker Munawar Zama not only promoted enmity between different groups on religious grounds, he provoked participants to cause riots. He also provoked Salman to damage the idol of the goddess at Muthyalamma temple,” the sub-inspector of Gopalapuram police station said in the complaint.
Salman Salim Thakur, the accused who had damaged the idol of deity at the Secunderabad temple was among the 151 people who stayed at the Hyderabad hotel and attended a workshop organized there.
The man barged into the temple on October 14 and damaged the idol of the Goddess Muthyallama. He was caught and badly thrashed by a mob. Salman is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city.
The police on Thursday sealed the hotel and are also scrutinizing the conference recordings, material distributed to participants, and several other details.
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