Samajwadi Party leader booked for claiming Azam Khan urged Muslims not to celebrate Eid over West Asia conflict

A leader of the Samajwadi Party has been booked for allegedly urging Muslims not to celebrate Eid this year as a mark of public protest against the US-Israel offensive on Iran.

He said that it was an appeal of jailed leader Azam Khan, police informed.

ASP Anurag Singh said SP leader Yusuf Malik, the accused, from Moradabad, met Khan in the Rampur jail on March 14.

The officer said on Monday that Khan's wife, Tazeen Fatima, was also present during the meeting.

Malik later told mediapersons outside the jail that Khan had appealed to Muslims to wear black clothes and refrain from celebrating Eid this year to express grief over the deaths of more than 160 girls in a recent missile strike on a school in Iran, allegedly carried out by the US.

Police said a video of Malik making the statement was circulated on social media, following which a sub-inspector posted at the Ganj police station lodged a complaint against the SP leader.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered, on Sunday night, against Malik under sections 196(1) (promoting enmity between groups), 153(2) (waging war against government of any foreign state), and 57 (inciting public or a group of more than 10 to commit an offence) of the BNS.

Further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation, the officer said.