Delhi Police to SC: no hate words against Muslim community at Delhi event

(MENAFN- IANS)

New Delhi, April 14 (IANS) The Delhi Police has told the Supreme Court that the speakers at the religious assembly organised by Hindu Yuva Vahini on December 19, last year, made no hate speech against the Muslim community.

The Delhi Police said in the video clip of the Delhi incident, there is no utterance against any particular section or community. 'Hence, after inquiry and after evaluation of the alleged video clip, it was concluded that the alleged speech did not disclose any hate words against a particular community as alleged or otherwise', said the counter affidavit filed by Delhi Police.

The police said: 'There is no use of such words which mean or could be interpreted as 'open calls for genocide of Muslims in order to achieve ethnic cleansing or an open call for murder of an entire community' in the speech'.

The Supreme Court is hearing a plea -- filed by journalist Qurban Ali and former Patna High Court judge and senior advocate Anjana Prakash-- seeking direction to ensure investigation and action against those who allegedly made hate speeches during events held in Haridwar and Delhi, last year.

The affidavit added, 'It is pertinent to mention here that no hate was expressed in the events at Delhi against any group, community, ethnicity, religion or faith, the speech was about empowering one's religion to prepare itself to face the evils which could endanger its existence, which is not evenly remotely connected to call for genocide of any particular religion'.

The police said it conducted an in-depth investigation of the video and other material, and found that no hate speech was given against any community. 'That the allegations made against the police authorities, by the petitioners that police authorities are hand in glove with perpetrators of communal hate are baseless, imaginary and has no basis whatsoever, as the instant case is based on video tape evidence, there is hardly any scope on the part of the investigating agencies to temper with the evidence or hamper the investigation in any manner', added the affidavit.

It added that based on the investigations, all the complaints filed regarding the event are closed. The police also questioned the petitioners for moving the top court without first approaching it.

The Delhi Police said none of the words which were spoken during the events in any manner whatsoever overtly and explicitly described Indian Muslims as usurpers of territory, and as predators of land, livelihoods and of Hindu women, and nothing was said or done which could create an environment of paranoia amongst any religion, cast or creed.

The Delhi Police said some complaints were lodged alleging that hate speech was made at the event organised here by the Hindu Yuva Vahini on December 19 last year and all those complaints were consolidated and an inquiry was conducted.

'That the findings of the inquiry after visual and audio examination of the evidence further disclose that speech did not contain any hate words against a particular community, and persons who gathered were there with motive to save the ethics of their community', the police said.

The affidavit added, 'We must practice tolerance to the views of others. Intolerance is as much dangerous to democracy as to the person himself. That the petitioner is trying to draw an incorrect and absurd inference by isolated passages disregarding the main theme and its message'. The police urged the top court to dismiss the petition with cost.

On Wednesday, the top court sought a status report from the Uttarakhand government, after the state submitted four FIRs registered in connection with the alleged hate speeches made in December last year at an event in Haridwar. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on April 22.

--IANS

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