Abdullah Sohail slams Congress over FIR on Jubilee Hills Muslims demanding graveyard land

Hyderabad: BRS senior leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail on Thursday accused the Congress government of targeting Muslims by registering an FIR against residents of Jubilee Hills who staged a peaceful protest demanding land for a graveyard. He said the move amounted to intimidation and exposed the “communal mindset” of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s administration.

Addressing the media, Sohail said the case was not a routine law-and-order action but a deliberate attempt to criminalise a long-pending demand. “Instead of allotting land for a graveyard, the Congress regime is treating Muslims as criminals for seeking dignity in death,” he alleged.

FIR against peaceful protesters

The case, registered at Borabanda Police Station under Crime No. 529/2025, was filed after nearly 200 residents held placards outside Tawhid Masjid on August 22 following Friday prayers. While the complaint itself admitted that Namaz caused no obstruction, police claimed the protesters blocked the road and disrupted traffic.

The FIR named several individuals, including Maqram, Javeed, Khader, Yakub, Munir Khan and Sharif, and invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 292 (public nuisance), Section 223 (disobedience of orders of a public servant), and Section 126(2) (wrongful restraint). Sohail said the charges were minor and bailable but had been piled up to create an atmosphere of fear.

“Congress no different from BJP”

Sohail accused the Congress of abandoning steps initiated by the previous BRS government to resolve the graveyard land issue. He alleged that the FIR reflected double standards, equating the Revanth Reddy-led regime to BJP governments. “This is not Congress, it is CongRSS. The Revanth government is only a replica of the Yogi Adityanath model, ruling by terrorising Muslims,” he said.

Call for withdrawal of FIR

The BRS leader emphasised that the protestors were neither rioters nor anti-social elements but common people demanding a basic right. He warned that Muslims would not be silenced by police cases and vowed that the BRS would continue to support the community. “Denial of burial space is denial of humanity. The government must withdraw this FIR immediately and allocate land without delay,” Sohail demanded.