Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has been booked yet again for allegedly making provocative speech at an election rally, the sixth case to be registered against the U.P. Minister after the Election Commission cracked the whip on him.
The latest FIR was registered against Mr. Khan on April 13, 2014 at Afzalgarh police station in Bijnore, official sources said on Tuesday.
While two FIRs have been lodged against Mr. Khan in Bijnore, one FIR each has been lodged in Ghaziabad, Rampur, Sambhal and Shamli districts for allegedly making inflammatory speeches and violating the mode code of conduct.
On April 11, the EC had banned Mr. Khan from campaigning in Uttar Pradesh and asked authorities to initiate criminal proceedings against him.
The EC had been critical of the role of Samajwadi Party’s government in the State for “soft-pedalling” on registration of FIRs against Mr. Khan and not dealing with the sensitive issue with alacrity.
Mr. Khan had addressed an election rally at Afzalgarh in support of Moradabad’s SP candidate, S.T. Hasan on April 10 in which he had allegedly tried to flare up communal feelings by speaking on the Gujarat and Muzaffarnagar riots in detail.
Another FIR was lodged against Mr. Khan in Bijnore on April 11 for allegedly making provocative remarks at an election rally in Nehtaur on the same day. He has been accused for flaring up communal feeling and trying to divide people on religious lines.
Earlier, an FIR was lodged against Mr. Khan in Sambhal on April 12 on charges of inciting communal passions during his election meeting on April 9 where Mr. Khan had exhorted the electorate to take revenge from the rioters of Muzaffarnagar by pressing the (EVM) button in the Lok Sabha polls.
On April 12, Mr. Khan was booked in Masuri police station of Ghaziabad for his controversial remarks on Kargil war.
