Lucknow: The chairman of the UP Shia Waqf Board, Waseem Rizvi, was booked for hurting religious sentiments after he allegedly made statements against the Caliphs of the Muslim community. An FIR was lodged against Rizvi on Sunday at the Chowk Police station in Lucknow following a written complaint by the Sahaba Action Committee.
Rizvi’s statements had reportedly offended members of the Sunni sect who were angered by statements about the Caliphs of Islam, though he has denied these claims.
Following the complaint, thousands of people took out a protest-march in the Old Lucknow area on Monday, demanding Rizvi’s arrest within 24 hours. The protesters also burnt an effigy of the UP Shia Waqf Board chairman.
The president of the Sahaba Action Committee, Maulana Abdul Wahid Farooqui, said the community was hurt by the language used by Rizvi and was demanding the slapping of National Securities Act on him.
“Waseem Rizvi has been making derogatory remarks about Sunni community and caliphs for quite some time now. So after proper consultation, we decided to file a complaint against him. Today, thousands of people have gathered to protest and are demanding that National Security Act be slapped on Rizvi,” Maulana Abdul Wahid Farooqui said.
He added that they would write to the chief minister and district magistrate asking for Rizvi’s immediate arrest. “If our demands are not met, then we will plan our strategy ahead,” he said.
The Shia Waqf Board chairman, however, alleged that his words were being twisted to malign his image. “I have only spoken about Abu-Baqr Al Baghdadi of Islamic State and Mullah Mohammed Omar of Taliban. These are concerted efforts to malign my image,” Rizvi claimed.
Meanwhile, SHO of Chowk Police Station Umesh Chand Srivastava, said that an FIR has been lodged against Rizvi after the written complaint and added that a probe is underway.
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