Kamlesh Tiwari

Kamlesh Tiwari (died 18 October 2019)[1] was a Hindu nationalist politician who founded the Hindu Samaj Party in 2017.[2]

When the politician Azam Khan alluded of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members to be homosexuals, Tiwari retaliated that Muhammad was the first homosexual.[3] Tiwari's comment was considered derogatory by thousands of Indian Muslims[4][5] who protested and demanded a death penalty for Tiwari.[6][7] He was arrested, charged under National Security Act,[8] and jailed for a few months by the Uttar Pradesh Police.[3]

In October 2019, he was murdered at his house in Lucknow.[9]

Career

Tiwari had contested the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly election from Lucknow and lost.[10][11] He had claimed himself to be the working president of Hindu Mahasabha.[6] But the claim was disputed by Swami Chakrapani, the national president of the Hindu Mahasabha. He later founded the Hindu Samaj Party in 2017.[9] He also contested from Faizabad in 2019 Indian general election but lost.[12]

Comment on Prophet Muhammad

On 2 December 2015, Azam Khan, a politician of the Samajwadi Party, stated[note 1] that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members are homosexuals and that is why they do not get married.[6][15][16] The next day, Kamlesh Tiwari retaliated to Azam Khan's statement and called Muhammad as the first homosexual in the world.[6][7] Thousands of Muslims protested in Muzaffarnagar and demanded death penalty for Tiwari,[6][17][18] with some demanding that he be "beheaded" for “insulting” Muhammad.[7] Tiwari was arrested in Lucknow on 3 December 2015 by Uttar Pradesh Police.[3][7] Protest rallies against his statement were held by several Islamic groups in other parts of India, most of them demanding death penalty.[19]

Tiwari was promptly arrested for his remarks in early December 2015, and charged under National Security Act by the Samajwadi Party-led state government in Uttar Pradesh.[8] Tiwari spent several months in jail for his comment. He was charged under Indian Penal Code sections 153-A (promoting enmity between groups on the grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).[20][21]

The protests demanding capital punishment for Tiwari triggered counter-protests by Hindu groups who accused Muslim groups of demanding enforcement of Islamic law of blasphemy in India.[7] His detention under National Security Act was revoked by Allahabad High Court in 2016.[22][10]

Death

On 18 October 2019, Tiwari was murdered by two assailants in his office-cum-residence at Lucknow. The assailants came dressed in saffron kurtas to give him a sweets box with an address of a sweet shop in Surat city in Gujarat.[23][24] Tiwari's aide Saurashtrajeet Singh was sent to bring cigarettes for them and when he returned he found Tiwari lying with his throat slit. According to police officials, the assailants kept a revolver and knife inside the sweets box. During the attack, one assailant slit his throat while another fired at him.[24] He was declared dead during treatment at a hospital's trauma centre.[12]

Investigation

Previously two ISIS suspects detained by Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad, had accepted that they wanted to kill Kamlesh Tiwari in 2017.[25][26] Al-Hind Brigade, a lesser known group, claimed the responsibility of death of Tiwari.[27][28] As of 19 October 2019, six accused involved in the murder of Tiwari were detained by the Surat Police, Gujarat ATS and Uttar Pradesh Police.[29][24] The police used CCTV footage of a sweet mart in Surat whose address was found on the sweets box.[24] According to the police, the pistol used in the murder was bought in Surat and murder was planned in Dubai.[30] According to the Police, Tiwari’s comment on Muhammad was the motive for his murder and that his murder was a planned attack.[31][32]

Notes
  1. Khan's statement came after Arun Jaitley argued in favor of homosexual rights in India.[13][14]
gollark: Just watch the electrons ***reaallly*** closely.
gollark: In that case, clearly the solution is to destroy quantum physics
gollark: I'm sure we can figure out some way to make even smaller transistors somehow, out of individual atoms or something crazy.
gollark: Intel's still struggling with 10 though.
gollark: We got 7nm recently.

References
  1. "Hindu Group Leader Kamlesh Tiwari Shot Dead In Lucknow". NDTV.com. Retrieved Oct 20, 2019.
  2. "लखनऊ में हिंदू समाज पार्टी के नेता कमलेश तिवारी की गला रेतकर हत्या". Aaj Tak (in Hindi). Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  3. Bhatia, Ishita (4 December 2015). "Kamlesh Tiwari not a member, says Hindu Mahasabha". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  4. Kumar, Satish (2017-11-22). India's National Security: Annual Review 2016-17. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351240796.
  5. Ali, Mohammad (2016-01-20). "Kamlesh Tiwari may contest U.P. bypolls". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  6. "This is what Kamlesh Tiwari said about Prophet Muhammad which infuriated Muslims". Zee News. 2015-12-12. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  7. Who was Kamlesh Tiwari, the Hindu Samaj Party leader killed in broad daylight in Lucknow?, India Today (October 18 2019)
  8. Kamlesh Tiwari may contest U.P. bypolls, Mohammad Ali, The Hindu (September 20 2016), Quote: "Mr. Tiwari, who was granted bail last week by a Lucknow court, will remain in jail until the Allahabad High Court decides on his plea against the slapping of the National Security Act (NSA) on him by the State government."
  9. Chakraborty, Pathikrit (18 October 2019). "Kamlesh Tiwari: Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari stabbed to death in Lucknow". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  10. Taneja, Nidhi (2019-10-18). "Who was Kamlesh Tiwari". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  11. "Kamlesh Tiwari murder: UP Police arrest three persons from Surat". The Indian Express. 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  12. Rashid, Omar (2019-10-18). "Saffron fringe group leader Kamlesh Tiwari killed in Lucknow". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  13. Muslims want ban on Hindu Mahasabha; does Kamlesh Tiwari really belong to it?, Zee News (December 13 2015)
  14. How it all started: Tiwari commented on Azam’s reaction to Jaitley’s remarks on SC gay sex ruling, Indian Express (December 16 2015)
  15. "Azam Khan no stranger to controversies, has a history of squabbles". Hindustan Times. 2019-07-27. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  16. Dec 1, Mrigank Tiwari | TNN | Updated; 2015; Ist, 22:10. "RSS volunteers are 'homosexuals', says Azam Khan | Bareilly News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-10-19.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. Dec 11, Uday Rana | TNN | Updated; 2015; Ist, 17:43. "1 lakh Muslims gather in Muzaffarnagar, demand death for Kamlesh Tiwari | Meerut News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-10-20.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. Team, DNA Web (2015-12-12). "Here's why 1 lakh Muslims are demanding death penalty for Kamlesh Tiwari". DNA India. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  19. Team, DNA Web (2015-12-12). "Here's why 1 lakh Muslims are demanding death penalty for Kamlesh Tiwari". DNA India. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  20. Preeti (2016-01-05). "All You Need To Know About Malda Violence: Explained". OneIndia.com. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  21. "Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari found murdered inside house in Lucknow". The Indian Express. 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  22. "Kamlesh Tiwari Murder: Wife Blames 'Maulanas' for Hindu Leader's Death, Cops Call It 'Purely Criminal'". News18. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  23. Plan to kill Kamlesh Tiwari hatched 2 months ago: Police, India Today (October 19 2019)
  24. Shaikh, Sarfaraz (19 October 2019). "Kamlesh Tiwari murder case: Six detained in Surat". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  25. Shaikh, Sarfaraz (19 October 2019). "Surat link in UP Hindu Samaj leader murder?". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  26. "ISIS के निशान पर थे कमलेश तिवारी, गुजरात ATS के पास सबूत". Aaj Tak (in Hindi). Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  27. "On WhatsApp, Al-Hind Brigade Claims Responsibility for Killing Hindu Leader Kamlesh Tiwari". News18. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  28. "President of UP political outfit murdered at home 3 booked". The Week. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  29. Mamtany, Sidhant (2019-10-19). "Gujarat ATS cracks Kamlesh Tiwari murder case, key conspirators held in Surat". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  30. "Kamlesh Tiwari murder: FIR against three after wife of of[sic] ex-Hindu Mahasabha leader blames Maulanas; police call it 'personal enmity'". Firstpost. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  31. "Kamlesh Tiwari murder: UP Police says case solved, remarks on Prophet Muhammad behind killing". India Today. Ist. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  32. "Hindu Leader Kamlesh Tiwari Killed Over Objectionable Comments in 2015, 3 Held from Gujarat: UP Police". News18. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
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