Former Punjab DGP Mustafa booked for making 'hate speech'

Former Punjab DGP and political advisor to Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu Mohammad Mustafa has been booked by the Punjab police for allegedly making a hate speech in Malerkotla a few days ago.

A case under sections 153-A and 125 has been registered against Mustafa in Malerkotla city police station after a video of Mustafa went viral in which he is seen making allegedly hate comments. The FIR was lodged on the directions of the election commission.

Mustafa is the husband of Punjab cabinet minister Razia Sultana and the incident happened when he was campaigning for his wife.

Mustafa apparently lost his cool after supporters of an opponent party, contesting election against Sultana, raised slogans against him.

Making it an election issue, leaders of political parties including BJP, AAP, SAD, PLC and others trained their guns at the Congress leadership. The BJP even made a formal complaint to the Election Commission seeking action against Mustafa.

Senior Congress leaders including MP Ravneet Singh Bittu have also slammed Mustafa for making the purportedly derogatory comments.

However, Mustafa, who has been booked for promoting enmity among communities, termed it as complete nonsense. "I did not target any community as is being alleged on social media. I used word 'fitne' which means mischief mongers or law breakers. I was angry at a group of Muslim AAP workers who had tried to attack me. I was warning them, not Hindus."

Adding that the FIR against him was “totally baseless” as it has been registered “without proper verification of facts”, the former top cop said he would cooperate during investigations and “submit my replies whenever investigations officer asks me to be present”.