Chhatarpur Stone-Pelting Case: Ex-Congress Leader & Main Accused Hazi Shahzad Ali Arrested; Sent To Police Custody For 3 Days

Chattarpur (Madhya Pradesh): The main accused in Chhatarpur stone-pelting case, Hazi Shahzad Ali was arrested on Tuesday. The action comes hours after police issued a lookout circular in his name.

Police said Ali was continuously changing his locations as the district administration razed his house in line with CM Mohan Yadav's order. He was finally located and nabbed near traffic thana in Chhatarpur on Tuesday morning.

The district court has sent Ali to 3-day police custody.

"We were monitoring Ali closely and arrested him from Chhatarpur on the basis of technical evidence. Police are investigating any links regarding foreign funding," said Chhatarpur SP on Tuesday.

The Chhatarpur police, taking swift action, arrested as many as 29 accused Molana Irfan Chisti till Sunday.

Prophet, Ramgiri Maharaj & violence...

The case dates back to August 21, when members of the Muslim community headed by former Congress leader Shahzad Ali staged a protest over 'objectionable remarks' by Hindu seer Ramgiri Maharaj. Notably, Maharaj has several cases against him for hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims and giving controversial statements about the Prophet.

The protestors turned violent and allegedly started pelting stones at the Chhatarpur police station. Several cops were injured in the incident. The police demanded strict orders from CM Mohan Yadav against the accused. The next day, police conducted a joint operation with a team of Chhatrpur dictrict administration and razed the illegal parts of his lavish bungalow.