The Bhavaninagar police booked Zee News Limited for hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslims by reportedly telecasting the Charlie Hebdo cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Mohammed Irfan, a student of Islamic studies from Jamia Nizmia and a resident of Nasheman Nagar lodged an FIR against the channel.
According to Irfan, the news channel and anchor Sudheer Chowdhary were well aware that the cartoon would hurt religious feelings and this as a deliberate act to trigger a controversy which disturbs the law and order.
“The video clip has also been uploaded on Zee News website and on Youtube. This means that they (Zee News Limited) want to continuously play with our feelings,” Irfan told the media. The channel had telecast the images on January 7 and again on January 13, Irfan added.
A case has been registered under sections 295 – A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings), 153 – A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and 153 – B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration).
A notice was also sent to the channel by the complainant, through his legal counsel, Ghulam Rabbani informing its management that all illustrations of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) are against Islamic beliefs.
If the cartoons were not removed from the website without more ado, a legal action will be taken against the channel, Irfan threaten.