Agra’s religious leader, son booked for dishonouring national flag: Police

By PTI

AGRA: A religious leader of Agra and his son, a government teacher in a madrasa, have been booked for allegedly objecting to the hoisting of the national flag in the Islamic educational institution on Independence Day here, police said on Wednesday.

Agra’s shahar mufti (city’s religious leader) Abdul Khubaib Roomi and his son Hammdul Kuddus, a UP government teacher for madrasas, were booked on charges of insulting the national flag and anthem under the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971, Mantola Police Station’s SHO Vinod Kumar said.

The two have also been slapped the charges of making imputations prejudicial to the national integration (section 153 B), statements conducing to public mischief (505) and causing public alarm (S 505 (1b) of the Indian Penal Code, the SHO said.

The case was lodged on the complaint of the chairman of a local Islamic body, Haji Aslam Qureshi, on Tuesday night, Kumar said.

He said the complaint was lodged after an audio clip of the father-son duo, objecting to the hoisting of the Tricolour and singing of the national anthem during the Independence Day function inside the madrasa, where Kuddus taught, went viral on social media.

The two had objected to the holding of the function inside the madrasa, located within Agra’s Jama Masjid, as an un-Islamic act with Shahar Mufti saying “this will invite the wrath of the God,” Kumar added, quoting from the audio clip.

The Independence Day function was presided over by UP Minority Commission chairperson, Ashfaq Saifi, a BJP leader.

“I was invited by the madrasa’s manager Munawwar Khan Hussain to hoist the flag and address students on the occasion. So, I took part and hoisted the flag. The national anthem was sung and I also addressed students,” Saifi said.

“After the event, I got to know of the audio clip purported to be that of the Shahr Mufti in which he had declared the flag hoisting within the madrasa as un-Islamic,” he said.

“The shahar mufti should have apologized to the nation and withdrawn his statement,” he added.

The shahar mufti did not respond to the calls by PTI.

The national vice president of the All India Jamiatul Qureshi, Haji Jamilluddin Qureshi, supported the mufti, saying his motto was not to disrespect the national flag.