Court rejects bail plea of Maulana Tauqeer Raza, five others in Bareilly violence case

A court in Bareilly has rejected the bail applications of Ittehad-e-Millat Council chief and five others arrested for attacking police personnel during the September 26 violence over the ''I Love Mohammad'' posters controversy.

Additional District Government Counsel (ADGC) Mahesh Pathak told PTI on Saturday that IMC chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza had called on members of the Muslim community to gather at the Islamia Maidan on the day of the violence despite prohibitory orders imposed in the city.

When police intervened, the mob resorted to stone-pelting, he said.

The rioters also stole the rifle of the gunner of the Superintendent of Police (city) and a wireless set from a police jeep, the ADGC added.

Ten FIRs were registered at the Kotwali, Baradari, Premnagar, Cantt, and Qila police stations. These cases have more than 125 named and over 2,500 unidentified accused. Currently, Raza is lodged in the Fatehgarh jail, while the other accused are in the Bareilly jail.

The IMC chief's lawyer had filed a bail application in the case pertaining to the violence that took place in Shyamganj under the Baradari police station area.

Pathak said the application was heard in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (Bareilly) Amrita Shukla on Friday, who rejected the bail applications of Raza, Faizan Sakalani, Takim, and Munir Idrishi (all residents of the Bareilly district) and Harman and Nematullah, residents of the Purnea district in Bihar.

Raza has been lodged in jail since September 27, a day after violent clashes erupted in Bareilly following the controversy over ''I Love Mohammad'' posters.

The violence broke out soon after a gathering of Raza's supporters, during which a mob allegedly attacked police personnel.

He was initially named as an accused in seven of the 10 FIRs; his name was added to the remaining three during the investigation.

The IMC chief is also an accused in older cases related to the 2019 anti-CAA-NRC protests.