Just a few days after FIR on the fact-checking journalist Mohammed Zubair, Ajmer police had arrested Wajid Khan, another vocal Muslim, on 10 October, 2024. The police accused Wajid of allegedly posting disturbing content on social media portal ‘X’ (previously Twitter) and ‘ruining the communal harmony’ after receiving a complaint from a local social media user. According to the reports, he has been arrested by Ganel police station and the mobile phone of the social media activist has been seized. The department is now also trying to ‘identify’ those who liked his post.
In response, the Twitter users, followers and woke people from minority communities have soon come-up with a blazing support, resulting in #IStandWithWajidKhan trend on ‘X’.
In the wake of the communal hate, minority communities are describing the incident as ‘an attack on the right to expression and religious freedom’ and ‘a case of Islamophobia’ where anyone with Muslim identity can be targeted on the basis of their names, beliefs and thoughts.
Targeted For Supporting Palestinian Liberation
According to the hashtag campaigners, Wajid has constantly been raising his voice in solidarity with free Palestine against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and this was pretty problematic for the massacre supporters. They believe that on his twitter account, Wajid was opposing the bloodshed, killing of innocent civilian population and voicing for an absolute freedom to oppose current arbitrary brutality.
Police Station Issues A Press-Release
Gegal police station has also issued a press-release to justify the action, which claims that the 24-year old man was trying to disrupt the communal harmony through social media and the Ajmer police is resilient to ‘trace and take action’ against those ‘antisocial elements’ who threaten the communal coordination.
Arresting Wajid under article 170 of ‘Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita’, the police department has also informed about ‘investigation of his phone’ under the supervision of SP, IPS Vandita Rana.
Misinformation And Hate Turmoil Against Wajid
A mammoth online misinformation turmoil has also been traced in between. A raft is projecting him as a savior while those who oppose are spreading hateful misinformation about Wajid’s intentions and social posts to actually disturb shared integrity and harmony.
The Hindutva raft is labeling him as ‘Madrasa-Chap’ with ‘terrorist links’ and ‘foreign funding’ and ‘dangerous intentions’.
‘External Pressures’
‘This boy has persistently been trying to provoke communalism on social media, we detained him tomorrow and checked his phone. We also checked his social media and we are trying to fix things through legal action,’ a police officer told NDTV.
Although the matter has been handed to an investigation team for now and the police department clarified that they are working to stop those who are ‘indulged in such criminal activities’ but as the action came in response to a complaint, some protestors have pointed towards ‘external Hindutva pressures’ on Ajmer police and some have marked the role of @randomsena behind the incident.
