Who is Syed Abdahu Kashaf, the man arrested for leading the ‘sar tan se juda’ protests in Hyderabad?

Hyderabad has been on edge this week. The arrest of now-suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA T Raja Singh has left the city on tenterhooks, with some expressing support for him, while others protested against the lawmaker for his remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

Earlier in the week, Hyderabad saw protesters burning effigies of T Raja Singh on the streets and slogans of ‘sar tan se juda’ slogans rang loud. On Friday, tensions simmered — shops that fall under the Goshamahal constituency remained shut and large number of police officials were deployed to ensure that the peace and harmony of the area remained.

Also read: Anger and Agitation: Hyderabad remains on edge over T Raja Singh's remarks on Prophet Muhammad

Along with T Raja Singh, the police on Thursday also arrested a man identified as Syed Abdahu Kashaf, who was seen in a viral video leading slogans calling for the beheading of MLA Raja Singh.

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So, who is he and what has made him so infamous in Hyderabad? We take a closer look.

All about Syed Abdahu Kashaf

Syed Abdahu Kashaf is a Hyderabad-based influencer and a self-proclaimed social and civil rights activist.

As per reports, Kashaf has also served as the former IT cell head of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). A resident of Hyderabad's Malakpet, he also participated in the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests.

As per a Free Press Journal report, he was booked by the Hyderabad Cyber Crime police in the year 2020 for inciting conspiracy, promoting communal enmity, and selling defamatory content over a tweet.

In July 2020, he was once again booked under sections 153, 504 & 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code for using derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

As recently as 20 August, he shared a photograph with comedian Munawar Faruqui and said, “Reminder: This is #Hyderabad, not Bhagyanagar! Outsiders and hate mongers have no place here. I welcome Munawar Faruqui to our city. Kudos to the organizers, Azhar Bhai and Nisar. Most importantly, thank you, Cyberabad Police Commissionerate CP Stephen Raveendra Sir IPS, for retaining the faith in Police.”

Why was he arrested?

On 23 August, a video went viral which showed Kashaf outside the Hyderabad Police commissioner’s office in Basheerbagh, demanding the arrest of Raja Singh.

In the viral video, a group of young men can be heard sloganeering, “Gustak E Rasool saw ki ek hi saza, sar tan se juda (Those who blaspheme against the Prophet deserve only one punishment – to have their head removed from the body)”.

The video clearly shows Kashaf leading in the sloganeering.

Kashaf had earlier also told News Minute that that Raja Singh’s comments had angered followers of Prophet Muhammad. “Disrespectful comments against our Prophet made me very emotional. I have faith in the Indian judiciary that the hate monger MLA will be punished,” he had said.

He also said that Raja Singh being released on bail on Tuesday night had sent across a wrong message among the youth of the country.

Kashaf has been booked under three sections —153(A) (promoting enmity between different groups), 505(2) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

T Raja Singh rearrested

Meanwhile, T Raja Singh was re-arrested on Thursday under the Preventive Detention Act (PD Act) from his residence in Hyderabad. This action came just two days after he was arrested and later granted bail for his alleged controversial remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

His arrest on Thursday was owing to a video he released about the “communal atmosphere” in Hyderabad. In the video, he is quoted as saying, “Police in Telangana are puppets in the hands of Asaduddin Owaisi.”

He also blamed Telangana minister KT Rama for the ‘vitiated atmosphere’ in the state of Telangana. He said KTR is “an atheist who believes in no religion"”, whose party Telangana Rashtra Samiti “plays the game of Muslim vote-bank” along with AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi.

With inputs from agencies

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