Ranchi: A Ranchi court’s order granting bail to a 19-year-old on the condition that she distributes five copies of the Quran sparked a row on Tuesday with the teenager saying she would file an appeal and several BJP leaders visiting her house to express solidarity with her. Richa Bharti was arrested on Saturday and released on bail on Monday.
Following a complaint by local residents alleging that Bharti had shared an offensive post against Muslims, the court of judicial magistrate (first class) Manish Kumar Singh had given her bail on Monday but had also asked her to distribute five copies of the Quran — one to the Sadar Anjuman Islamia Committee and the other four to libraries. According to the order, Bharti was supposed to give a copy to the committee by Tuesday evening.
Bharti, however, didn’t comply stating that she is yet to get a copy of the judgment. “While I respect the court’s order, I will file an appeal in the high court as I believe that the right thing has not been done. Without going into specifics, I want to ask that while others may have posted many other things in the past, has anyone been asked to distribute the Bible or the Bhagwad Gita or visit a temple?”
Her father Prakash Patel said they have faith in the judiciary and will explore all legal options available to them. “We are contemplating filing an appeal against the lower court order once we get a copy of the judgment,” he said. Bharti’s lawyers said they couldn’t procure a copy from the court till Tuesday evening.
With the issue trending on social media and hitting the headlines, the family has been provided protection by the district administration as a precautionary measure.
BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo and other leaders also visited Bharti’s house in Pithoria to express solidarity with her. The leaders stayed there till late evening, holding talks with her family and lawyers. “We learnt about the judgment only through the media. We have never heard of anything like this happening anywhere before this,” said Shahdeo.
Following a complaint by local residents alleging that Bharti had shared an offensive post against Muslims, the court of judicial magistrate (first class) Manish Kumar Singh had given her bail on Monday but had also asked her to distribute five copies of the Quran — one to the Sadar Anjuman Islamia Committee and the other four to libraries. According to the order, Bharti was supposed to give a copy to the committee by Tuesday evening.
Bharti, however, didn’t comply stating that she is yet to get a copy of the judgment. “While I respect the court’s order, I will file an appeal in the high court as I believe that the right thing has not been done. Without going into specifics, I want to ask that while others may have posted many other things in the past, has anyone been asked to distribute the Bible or the Bhagwad Gita or visit a temple?”
Her father Prakash Patel said they have faith in the judiciary and will explore all legal options available to them. “We are contemplating filing an appeal against the lower court order once we get a copy of the judgment,” he said. Bharti’s lawyers said they couldn’t procure a copy from the court till Tuesday evening.
With the issue trending on social media and hitting the headlines, the family has been provided protection by the district administration as a precautionary measure.
BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo and other leaders also visited Bharti’s house in Pithoria to express solidarity with her. The leaders stayed there till late evening, holding talks with her family and lawyers. “We learnt about the judgment only through the media. We have never heard of anything like this happening anywhere before this,” said Shahdeo.
World Cup 2019
Trending Topics
LATEST VIDEOS
More from TOI
Navbharat Times
Featured Today in Travel
Quick Links
Lok Sabha Election Schedule 2019Lok Sabha Election NewsDelhi Capitals teamMI team 2019Rajasthan Royals 2019RCB team 2019Maharashtra Lok Sabha ConstituenciesBJP Candidate ListBJP List 2019 TamilnaduShiv Sena List 2019AP BJP List 2019Mamata BanerjeeBJP List 2019 MaharashtraPriyanka GandhiBJP List 2019 KarnatakaAMMK Candidate List 2019BJP List 2019 WBLok Sabha Elections in Tamil NaduBSP List 2019 UPNews in TamilLok Sabha Poll 2019Satta Matka 2018PM ModiMahagathbandhanNagpur BJP Candidate ListChandrababu NaiduTamil Nadu ElectionsUrmila MatondkarNews in TeluguMadras High CourtTejashwi YadavArvind KejriwalTejasvi SuryaPawan KalyanArvind KejriwalYogi AdityanathJaya PradaSatta King 2019Srinagar encounter
Get the app