Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has been booked for allegedly making derogatory remarks against women during an election meeting for the Rampur Sadar assembly bypoll on December 5, police said on Friday.
Circle officer (city) Anuj Chowdhary said that Khan and SP’s bypoll candidate Aseem Raja were addressing the meeting on November 29, during which Khan allegedly made a remark which provoked some women.
According to police, the women reached Ganj police station on Thursday and gave an audio clip of Khan’s statement, while Shahnaz Begum lodged a complaint against the SP leader.
In her complaint, Begum quoted Khan as saying at the meeting, “Aaj kya ho gaya hai with you and us… If I had done this in four governments, then children, I swear by your smile, that before being born from the mother’s womb, The child would say ask Azam Khan whether I should come out or not.
Poeis said she also alleged that Khan shamed and humiliated women.
On her complaint IPC sections 294(b) (speaking obscene words in or near any public place), 504 (intentional insult), 505-2 (promoting feelings of enmity, hatred between different communities), 509 (punishment for outraging the modesty of a woman), 153-A(1) (promoting enmity between different classes on grounds of religion, caste or race) have been registered, Choudhary said.
He said that further investigation would be done and action would be taken on the basis of evidence.
The by-election was necessitated following the disqualification of Khan after he was convicted by a court and sentenced to three years imprisonment in a 2019 hate speech case.
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