Riot kingpin’s mentor quizzed over online post

Nagpur: Riots kingpin Fahim Khan's mentor, Mohd Hamid Engineer, who's also national president of an Islamic outfit, Imaan Tanzeem, was interrogated by cyber cops for three hours on inflammatory posts he shared in different groups, hours before riots erupted. The Minorities Democratic Party (MDP), which is now headed by riot mastermind Fahim Khan, was founded by Engineer in 2009. While Khan is still in police custody, police did not declare the arrest of Engineer, who had appealed for "donations for Mujahideens" in a social media message. Cops are verifying the contents of his messages. Engineer, who owned a community-based newspaper ‘Iman ki Awaaz', was once arrested by Tehsil police for spreading hate.Apart from the ‘Mujahideen' post, Engineer spewed venom at rightwing protesters in another WhatsApp group and denounced demands to damage Aurangzeb's tomb. A crime branch team rounded up Engineer earlier in the day, but was released after recording his statement.Kingpin Fahim Khan, who was part of Engineer's group, also featured in an inflammatory video shot outside Ganeshpeth police station, which was the crucial trigger for the riot. In the video, Khan was heard accusing police for soft-pedalling violations by the rightwing group, which torched Aurangzeb's effigy near Gandhi Gate in Mahal.Sources stated Fahim Khan was the city president of Minorities Democratic Party (MDP), which was formed in 2009 as a sister wing of another minority-based outfit, Sunni Youth Force, which worked closely with Engineer. The latter was earlier under police scrutiny for his role in a riot at Mominpura in 2011.Engineer, who edited a community newspaper ‘Imaan ki Awaaz', was questioned by DCP Cyber, Lohit Matani, regarding inflammatory messages posted by him in different WhatsApp groups over the last few days. Sources stated senior police officials are still verifying Engineer's posts, before deciding on legal action against him.Sources in the social media surveillance team of cyber cell are scouring footage for fresh inflammatory videos. Abandoning Instagram and Facebook in fear of being tracked, internal WhatsApp groups have now become the most sought-after platforms for propagating hate, it's learnt. "Unfazed by actions, communities have shifted to smaller WhatsApp groups in different areas," said a cyber cop.Nagpur: Riots kingpin Fahim Khan's mentor, Mohd Hamid Engineer, who's also national president of an Islamic outfit, Imaan Tanzeem, was interrogated by cyber cops for three hours on inflammatory posts he shared in different groups, hours before riots erupted. The Minorities Democratic Party (MDP), which is now headed by riot mastermind Fahim Khan, was founded by Engineer in 2009. While Khan is still in police custody, police did not declare the arrest of Engineer, who had appealed for "donations for Mujahideens" in a social media message. Cops are verifying the contents of his messages. Engineer, who owned a community-based newspaper ‘Iman ki Awaaz', was once arrested by Tehsil police for spreading hate.Apart from the ‘Mujahideen' post, Engineer spewed venom at rightwing protesters in another WhatsApp group and denounced demands to damage Aurangzeb's tomb. A crime branch team rounded up Engineer earlier in the day, but was released after recording his statement.Kingpin Fahim Khan, who was part of Engineer's group, also featured in an inflammatory video shot outside Ganeshpeth police station, which was the crucial trigger for the riot. In the video, Khan was heard accusing police for soft-pedalling violations by the rightwing group, which torched Aurangzeb's effigy near Gandhi Gate in Mahal.Sources stated Fahim Khan was the city president of Minorities Democratic Party (MDP), which was formed in 2009 as a sister wing of another minority-based outfit, Sunni Youth Force, which worked closely with Engineer. The latter was earlier under police scrutiny for his role in a riot at Mominpura in 2011.Engineer, who edited a community newspaper ‘Imaan ki Awaaz', was questioned by DCP Cyber, Lohit Matani, regarding inflammatory messages posted by him in different WhatsApp groups over the last few days. Sources stated senior police officials are still verifying Engineer's posts, before deciding on legal action against him.Sources in the social media surveillance team of cyber cell are scouring footage for fresh inflammatory videos. Abandoning Instagram and Facebook in fear of being tracked, internal WhatsApp groups have now become the most sought-after platforms for propagating hate, it's learnt. "Unfazed by actions, communities have shifted to smaller WhatsApp groups in different areas," said a cyber cop.