Lodge FIR against Raj Thackeray, Delhi court directs police

New Delhi:  A court in New Delhi on Monday directed the Delhi Police to lodge an FIR against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for allegedly branding Muslims from north India as insurgents and threatening to throw them out of the state (Maharshtra). The court said it was “primary and bounden duty of the police to register FIR and proceed with investigation” but the authorities have “failed to discharge” their primary duty. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sameer Bajpai’s order came on a complaint by advocate Mithilesh Kumar Pandey who referred to a rally in Mumbai addressed by Thackeray, in which he allegedly blamed Muslims from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand for the 11 August, 2012 violence during protests against the Assam riots. “Considering the entire facts and circumstances, SHO, police station Dwarka is directed to immediately register an FIR upon the present complaint under relevant provisions,” the court said, while asking that the compliance report be submitted by 4 April. The lawyer in his complaint has said that the accused in his political rally had repeatedly targeted these immigrants and even declared them as “insurgents” and also threatened to throw them out of Maharashtra. He further told the court that by the hate speech, the accused has prompted, disharmony and feelings of enmity, hatred, or ill-will between different communities particularly belonging to northern India on grounds of place of birth, residence, language, caste and community etc and has also insulted the particular community. He said that Thackeray in his speech had said that assaulters had come from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand and due to them violence was likely take place in Mumbai. Pandey also said that due to repeated speeches of such kind by the accused, the sentiments of people have been hurt. PTI