Lyricist Javed Akhtar was on top of Twitter trends on Friday morning, and was on the receiving end of social media hatred after he tweeted on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)councillor Tahir Hussain's arrest.
Questioning the Delhi police's action, Akhtar tweeted: “So many killed , so many injured , so many house burned , so many shops looted so many people turned destitutes but police has sealed only one house and looking for his owner. Incidentally his name is Tahir. Hats off to the consistency of the Delhi police.”
Akhtar's tweet has not gone down well with trolls who have taken to his Twitter timeline to call him 'traitor' and 'bigot' for defending Tahir. Some of them even accused him of fuelling anger and hate and urged the Delhi Police to look into Akhtar's tweets that have been 'instigating people'.
AAP leader Tahir Hussain was suspended from the primary membership of his party on Thursday evening, after he was charged with murder and arson in connection with the death of Ankit Sharma, the Intelligence Bureau employee found dead in one of the areas in northeast Delhi most affected by violence over citizenship law protests. Hussain denied any involvement in the riots or the killing of Ankit Sharma, saying, "I came to know from news reports that I am being blamed for the murder of a man. These are lies and baseless accusations. For our safety, my family and I had moved away from our home on Monday in police presence."
Petrol bombs, stones and bricks were found on the rooftop of Hussain's house on Thursday.
Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi four days ago after violence between anti- and pro-Citizenship (Amendment) Act groups spiralled out of control. Frenzied mobs torched houses, shops, vehicles, a petrol pump and pelted stones at local residents and police personnel.
-with PTI inputs