Bareilly violence case: Fake letter misleading about ‘I Love Muhammad’ protest recovered from accused Nadeem Khan’s house

A major revelation has come to light during the investigation in the case of violence that took place in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh on 26 September. Bareilly Police has recovered the original fake letter through which an attempt was made to mislead the administration and the police and after which the situation took a violent turn. This letter was recovered during the search conducted at the house of Nadeem Khan, the alleged mastermind of the violence.

According to the police, this fake letter was prepared by Nadeem Khan and his associate Nafees, in which the signature of a person named Liaqat was forged. The letter falsely claimed that Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) President Maulana Tauqeer Raza had withdrawn the proposed gathering at Islamia Ground in Bareilly and appealed to Muslims not to gather there. Nadeem Khan’s signature was also present on the letter.

Police investigation has revealed that the purpose of this letter was to assure the administration that there would be no large gathering, while parallel to this, Nadeem Khan spread completely opposite messages through social media and WhatsApp groups. During interrogation, Nadeem told the police that he deliberately signed that appeal so that the police could be confused.

According to the police, after issuing the fake letter, Nadeem sent messages in several WhatsApp groups, in which he described the letter and signature as “fake” and appealed to the Muslims to reach Islamia Ground in large numbers after Friday prayers on September 26 and demonstrate in the name of ‘I Love Muhammad’. The crowd was organized through these messages.

On 26 September, Bareilly witnessed a pre-planned violent demonstration after Friday prayers, when a Muslim mob clashed with the police. The local administration had refused permission for the demonstration at Islamia Ground to maintain law and order. Despite this, a large number of people reached there and the situation went out of control.

After the violence, the police took strict action and arrested Nadeem Khan and 72 other accused on September 30. IMC chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza was also arrested in this case, who is accused of inciting Muslims to protest.

Police officials say that the fake letter recovered is solid evidence that the violence was not instigated suddenly but in a planned manner. At present, the police is investigating further by connecting the links of the entire case and preparations are being made to take strict legal action against the accused.

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