Elgar Parishad: Pune Police Begins Inquiry Against Sharjeel Usmani; Devendra Fadnavis Demands Stern Action For Hurting Hindu Sentiments

Pune, February 2, 2021: After getting complaints from various people, Pune city police have begun investigating the speech of Sharjeel Usmani, an alumnus of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), for allegedly hurting and insulting sentiments of Hindus at the Elgar Parishad event held in Pune on January 30.

Today senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis also wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray demanding strict action against Usmani.

A senior police officer said, “We are analysing the contents of the speech. Further action will be taken based on the enquiry report.”

At the Elgar Parishad conclave, Usmani, while talking about lynchings had allegedly said that those Hindus, who are involved in lynching, ‘kill people’, then lived their lives normally, and then kill people again the next day. He had also alleged that the ‘Hindu society had become rotten to the core today’ while talking about the lynchings in Uttar Pradesh.

These remarks have sparked a row in the State and prompted the former chief minister to write a letter to CM Thackeray demanding strict action against Usmani.

Fadnavis said the issue was a matter of concern for the entire State and a disgrace to all. “I hope that as soon as you receive this letter, you will file a case in this regard, bring Sharjeel to Maharashtra, and take legal action against him for making such statements,” he said.

“Sharjeel’s statements show how wrong it is to allow such events again,” he added.

Fadnavis further said that people come to the Maharashtra of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of Hindavi Swarajya, and spoil the atmosphere by making such statements. “This will not be acceptable to us, the people of Maharashtra, and the entire Hindu community,” the Opposition leader further said.

“In a video, Usmani allegedly insulted sentiments of the Hindu community during a speech. A person comes to Maharashtra, insults sentiments, and goes back to his home state without facing any legal action. If the State government does not take any action against Usmani, then we will assume that the government is behind him,” Fadnavis told reporters.

Besides Usmani, novelist Arundhati Roy, former IPS officer SM Mushrif, former Bombay High Court judge BG Kolse-Patil were also present during the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune.