A Delhi court has sentenced a member of the Hindutva WhatsApp group “Kattar Hindu Ekta,” allegedly formed to coordinate actions against Muslims during the February 2020 pogrom, to three years’ imprisonment for promoting enmity and public mischief, stating that his actions added fuel to already simmering communal tensions and hatred for the Muslim community.
The accused, Lokesh Kumar Solanki, was convicted under IPC Sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups on religious or other grounds) and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief).
Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh noted that Solanki, instead of calming tensions, “added fuel to the already simmering tensions” by spreading hate messages against the Muslim community and inciting others to commit crimes.
The court emphasised that such conduct, especially during a period of communal unrest, warranted no leniency.
The judgment, delivered on July 8, stated, “The convict had added fuel to the already simmering tensions by spreading messages intended to promote enmity and hatred for the Muslim community and induced others to commit crimes… This makes the offence very serious in nature.”
The court sentenced him to three years of simple imprisonment, to run concurrently, along with a fine of ₹25,000 for each offence.
Solanki, who had already spent over three years in custody, is expected to be released.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
