Tiwari was subsequently arrested, charged under the National Security Act,[12] and jailed for a few months by the Uttar Pradesh Police, before his release and subsequent murder.[7] Thirteen people have been charged by the UP police in relation to the killing: 8 have been charged for murder and conspiracy, and the other 5 for harboring the killers and concealing evidence.[13][5][14] The main accused, Syed Asim Ali, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on 25 July 2024.[15]
Early life and career
Tiwari was born in Para Kothba village, in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district, in the early 1970s. In 1980, his family moved to the nearby town of Mahmoodabad, when his father got a job as a priest at the local Ram-Janki temple. The family stayed at an accommodation provided within the shrine. Tiwari grew up there during the heyday of the ram temple movement in Ayodhya.[16]
About one hundred thousand Muslims protested in Muzaffarnagar, with some demanding the death penalty for Tiwari,[10][23][24] (the death penalty being reserved in India for the "rarest of rare" crimes),[25] with some demanding that he be "beheaded" for "insulting" Muhammad.[11] Rallies protesting his statement were held by several Islamic groups in other parts of India, some of them demanding the death penalty.[26]
On 3 December 2015, Tiwari was arrested in Lucknow by Uttar Pradesh police,[7][11] for his remarks on 2 December, and charged under the National Security Act by the Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh state government.[12] He was jailed for several months for his comment, having been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 153-A (promoting enmity between groups on the grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).[27][28]
On 18 October 2019, Tiwari was murdered by Farid-ud-din Shaikh and Ashfak Shaikh,[30] in his office-cum-residence in Lucknow. The assailants came dressed in saffron kurtas to give him a box of sweets marked with the address of a sweet shop in Surat city in Gujarat.[31][32][14] Tiwari's aide Saurashtrajeet Singh was sent to bring cigarettes for them and when he returned he found Tiwari lying with his throat slit. According to police officials, the assailants had a revolver and knife inside the sweets box. During the attack, one assailant slit Tiwari's throat while another fired at him.[32] He was declared dead during treatment at a hospital's trauma centre.[19]
According to the post-mortem report, he was stabbed 15 times and shot once.[6]
Investigation
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Two ISIS suspects previously detained by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Gujarat, had indicated that they wanted to kill Kamlesh Tiwari in 2017.[33][34] The Al-Hind Brigade, a lesser known group, claimed responsibility for the death of Tiwari.[35][36] By 19 October 2019, six accused of being involved in the murder of Tiwari—including Khurshid Ahmed Pathan, Faizan Pathan, and Maulana Mohsin Sheikh—were detained by the Surat Police, Gujarat ATS, and Uttar Pradesh police.[37][32] The police used CCTV footage from the sweet shop in Surat.[32]
According to the police, the pistol used in the murder was bought in Surat and the murder was planned in Dubai.[38] They also confirmed that Tiwari's comment on Muhammad was the motive for his murder.[39][40]
Court proceedings
On 9 April 2024, the Allahabad High Court denied bail to the accused in the case, this decision was overturned by the on 25 July 2024 when the main accused, Syed Asim Ali, was granted bail by the Supreme Court from the two judge bench of A. S. Oka and Augustine George Masih.[41]
^ abKamlesh Tiwari may contest U.P. bypolls, Mohammad Ali, The Hindu (20 September 2016), Quote: "Mr. Tiwari, who was granted bail last week by a Lucknow court, will remain in jail until the Allahabad High Court decides on his plea against the slapping of the National Security Act (NSA) on him by the State government."