The FIR was lodged against unknown persons even though the Hindu Sena owned up the defacement
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – The India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC), a hub of cultural activities, has lodged an FIR at the Tughlak road police station after its signboard was defaced by Hindutva outfit Hindu Sena on Sunday by pasting a poster “Jihadi Terrorist Islamic Centre”.
Sirajuddin Qureshi, chairman of IICC, told Clarion India: “We have registered an FIR at the Tughlak road police station after the incident. The police are starting the investigation in this regard. We are waiting to see what happens till the evening today”.
However, Qureshi refused to make any further comment on the incident saying that they would see what comes out through the police investigation.
The Tughlak road police station confirmed to Clarion India about the FIR but refused to give the details about the Sections under which the accused was booked. Investigative officer (IO) KSI Rajvir said that he would not reveal any details about the case. He told this correspondent to talk to the senior officer or SHO regarding this.
However, quoting an unnamed police source, the PTI reported that the FIR was registered against unknown persons under Section 3 of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act.
The FIR was lodged against unknown persons even though the Hindu Sena owned up the defacement.
“We do not know who took it off, but we definitely went there and put it up today,” said Hindu Sena activist talking to The Quint. He said they had gathered outside the IICC at Lodhi Road at 9 am on Sunday.
Talking to reporters, Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta also owned up the defacement. He said he was not aware of the incident but “When we asked the workers (karyakartas), they said radical terrorist activities were taking place all over the world, particularly in France… Our workers expressed their anger against such activities by putting posters at the India Islamic Cultural Centre”.
The IICC board, which has 20 percent members from the non-Muslim community, in a statement, condemned the incident in the strongest words. It has said the institution has emerged as one of the best examples of national unity and its primary goal is to remove the misunderstanding about Islam, and has succeeded in it somewhat.
