Prominent activist and TV Debater Waqar H Bhatti has been arrested by Jammu police from the Tangmarg area of Baramulla district in north Kashmir.
Official Sources told The Kashmiriyat that Waqar, originally a resident of Rajouri district was arrested in connection with an FIR lodged against him by BJP leader Baba Chanchal Singh. The BJP leader alleged that Waqar had “hurt” the religious sentiments of the Hindu community through his tweets.
They said that the FIR against Waqar has been lodged in the Police station Bahu Fort in Jammu video number 140/ 2022 under the sections 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 153 A IPC (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion).
Pertinently, On May 16, a court in Uttar Pradesh directed the administration in Varanasi district to a seal a spot in the mosque complex after counsels representing the Hindu petitioners claimed the discovery of a Shivling during a videography survey ordered by the UP court. A mosque management committee spokesperson disputed the claim, telling a television channel that the object was part of a “fountain”.
Waqar’s tweet following the Hindu counsel’s claims on the Gyanvapi mosque evoked widespread criticism.
A vocal TV debater, Waqar is often seen at the receiving end of the hate from Hindu-Right wing Hindu commentators in TV debates. Waqar Bhatti was among one of the few voices that emerged from Kashmir in the aftermath of the Abrogation of the special status of Jammu Kashmir on August 05, 2019 when all other prominent voices, intelligentsia, academia have disappeared from the public domain- visibly due to the “ongoing” arrest spree.
In one of his tweets, Waqar pointed out that certain Journalists were sending messages to the Police in Jammu Kashmir to demand his release. He wrote, ” How can andhbakht and journalists send messages to @JmuKmrPolice for my arrest.. Let me clarify my previous tweet the *which I put for shiviling highlight whether it is shiviling or something else. I did not target any religion and why should I target when the matter is in court.”
I never ever disrespect any religion nor I will in my life because I respect every Religion.
The people who are demanding FIR against me are actually doing Politics nothing else.@JmuKmrPolice @igpjmu
— Waqar H Bhatti (@WaqarHBhatti14) May 22, 2022
“I never ever disrespect any religion nor I will in my life because I respect every Religion. The people who are demanding FIR against me are actually doing Politics nothing else,” Waqar said in another tweet.