On inputs provided by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the Tamil Nadu Police arrested Raj Mohammad of Puddukottai district in Tamil Nadu in connection with a bomb threat to six Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) offices, including two in Uttar Pradesh.
As per a nATS press note released on Tuesday, the number which was used to send the message through WhatsApp was traced with the help of the cyber cell. The Tamil Nadu police were intimated after which Raj Mohammad was arrested. Now an ATS team has flown to Tamil Nadu to bring the suspect to Lucknow on transit remand.
Amidst the ongoing communal tension in the country after the controversial statement of BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, a case of bomb threats to blow up the offices of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Lucknow and Unnao came to the fore on Monday night. These messages were sent to Sangh member Neelkanth Tiwari from international numbers in Hindi, English and Kannada languages. The threat came after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement at the concluding ceremony of the third year of Sangh Shiksha Varg (Officers’ Training Camp) in Nagpur, in which he said that Hindus should realise that Muslims are descendants of our ancestors.
“They are brothers by blood relation. If they want to come back, we will welcome them with open arms. If they don't come back, it doesn’t matter. We already have 33 crore gods,” Bhagwat had said. A few hours after this threat, an FIR was registered at Madiyaon police station and finally the accused was arrested.
Reacting to the threat, Deputy CM Keshav Maurya said, "Whoever is behind such incidents, investigation is underway. If found guilty, strict action will be taken against the person/s responsible. People trying to insecure any office or establishment should change their mindset. Those vitiating the state’s atmosphere will be dealt with an iron fist by the state government.”
Meanwhile in Bareilly, a case was registered against two YouTube channels and they were blocked for inciting communal frenzy by streaming misleading news about imposition of curfew and riots in Bareilly. After this, a case was registered against two channels — RA Knowledge World and Bareilly Production under Information Technology Act — at Kotwali police station on Monday. District Magistrate of Bareilly Shivakant said that the administration was keeping a close watch on all developments.