'Sar Tan Se Juda' slogan case: An Ajmer court acquitted on Tuesday all six people accused of raising the controversial "Sar Tan Se Juda" slogan from the gates of the Moinuddin Chishti Dargah following suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma's derogatory comments against the Prophet in 2022. Public prosecutor Gulam Nazmi said Ajmer Dargah 'khadim' Gohar Chisti, Tazim Siddiki, Farook Zamali, Nasir, Riyaz Hasan and Moin have been acquitted in the case.
It was mentioned in the FIR that Gohar Chisti provoked people with the slogan "Gustakhi-e-Nabi Ki Ek Hi Saza, Sar Tan Se Juda, Sar Tan Se Juda" using loudspeakers from a religious place. Roughly translated, it means, "There is only one punishment for insulting the Prophet - beheading."
What were the loopholes in police's case?
India TV has a copy of the court's decision where the negligence of Ajmer Dargah police station came to the fore in this case:
- Gauhar Chishti said in the court that he was falsely implicated and was not given time to present his explanation
- The court accepted that the incident was reported on 17.6.2022 while the report was registered on 25.6.2022 at 11:40. No reason for the delay was mentioned in the report. The investigation officer PW 21 incident was also presented late by the police. All the eyewitnesses were said to be policemen while there was a crowd there.
- The court said in its judgment that the report was filed late. The incident took place on 17.6.2022 and the police submitted the incident report on 25.6.2022.
- The report was submitted late by investigation officer Banwari and police officer Dalveer Singh. The story presented in the court was considered suspicious by the court.
- The police kept the video of the incident to themselves for 8 days. That mobile should have been confiscated but it was not.
- The court acknowledged that the investigation showed that Jayanarayan had shown the video of the entire incident to Banwari Lal and Dalveer Singh, but despite that, the fact that no action was taken by them makes the prosecution's story doubtful.
- Complainant constable Jayanarayan told the court that his mobile phone had broken down in 2023. The CD of the video recording is certified to have been made in 2022, while presenting the CD along with it also makes it suspicious. The DVR of the meeting held by Gauhar Chishti in this entire incident is said to be in the CCTV camera of Anjuman Yadgar Committee, but that DVR is not considered to be certified from there.
- There is no evidence that the DVR was found at the dargah also there is no information about any witness who took that DVR. No letter was given at the dargah to take that DVR, nor is there any witness who has said that the DVR was asked for from the dargah committee. There is no sound in the DV, which has also been accepted by the investigation officer. Therefore, the involvement of Chishti's voice and speech in the meeting held by Gauhar Chishti on the 16th cannot be believed.
- The speech given by Gauhar Chishti on 17.6.22 or the slogans raised by him were not proved by any evidence in any file given by the Investigating Investigation Officer that it was inciting any person to commit a crime.
