T. Raja Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, was detained on Thursday afternoon under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act and lodged at the Cherlapally Central Prison.
The move comes after the BJP legislator made objectionable comments against Prophet Muhammad which triggered protests in the city and raising demands that stringent action be taken against him. He was arrested the first time on August 23, but released after a local court rejected the remand application of the police for not following proper procedure.
The Hyderabad City Police, earlier on Thursday, served a notice under Section 41 of the Cr.P.C. on the legislator. Soon after this development, Mr. Singh circulated a video in which he is seen as saying that his arrest was likely in connection with “old cases”. The MLA then described the issue as “ dharam yudh” and said he would not relent.
Later in the afternoon, a phalanx of policemen reached the legislator’s house, and amidst chants and sloganeering by his supporters, he was detained.
The Hyderabad City Police issued a statement describing him as a “rowdy sheeter” of the Mangalhat Police Station who has 101 cases registered against him, 18 of which pertain to communal offences.
The police also stated that the MLA had been frequently making provocative speeches to foment trouble between communities and reiterated that he had uploaded a video on Sree Ram Channel, on August 23, which was against Prophet Muhammad in order to have a “breach of peace and public tranquillity”, and that he had expressed his intention of posting another such video.
“Any venomous hate speech has the potential of provoking individuals to commit acts of riot, indiscriminate violence, terrorism etc. Offensive speech has real devastating effects on people’s lives and risks their health and safety and severely affects fraternity dignity of individuals, unity and national integration, and also offends the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India,” the police stated.
In the statement, police said that Mr. Singh had been “continuously causing widespread fear, unrest and panic among the general public for a long period of time by committing such offences and acting in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order apart from disturbing the peace, tranquillity and communal harmony in the society.”
