Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly are now searching for a local mosque imam who is believed to have sought donations for the membership of a group which allegedly targeted and harassed women and girls of their own community upon being spotted with men of other faiths, officials said.
The imam’s role came to light during the questioning of some of the arrested group members and examination of their cellphones, they added.
The imam allegedly circulated a QR code on social media seeking donations for the membership of the group, it is learnt.
So far, six persons, including Riyazuddin, 22, who also serves as an imam at a local mosque, have been arrested in the case. The other arrested accused, identified as Sehbaz alias Sufiyan, Sameer Raza, Jaish, Shanu and Nabi Hasan, are also in their 20s.
The group members, it has been alleged, would approach girls and women in public places when seen with men believed to be from other communities and confront them in a way to make them feel uncomfortable and record videos while making remarks about “modesty”.
These videos, often replete with objectionable language, were later posted on social media, it is learnt.
The group came to the police’s notice nearly three weeks ago after a video of their activities surfaced online. During the verification, the investigators found that the videos were shared on Instagram from an account ‘Haidri Dal Bareilly’.
The group, they said, had collected around Rs 1 lakh and efforts were being made to collect details of the donors and ascertain the purpose for which the money was contributed.
Two bank accounts in which these funds were deposited have been frozen, the police said.
Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said things will become clearer only after the arrest of the imam who is under their lens. Raids were being conducted to trace him, the Circle Officer added.
“The absconding imam shared a QR code in a WhatsApp group, urging members to donate Rs 200 or more for the cause. The same group had earlier been used to share details about where to gather upon spotting a girl or a woman with a man from another community,” Ashutosh Shivam said.
The preliminary inquiry suggested that the group is a small and self-motivated entity and no organisational backing has been found so far, the police said.
A senior police officer said it was found during the investigation that more than 50 social media groups operated with the names starting with “Haidri Dal” followed by the name of the district, state, or even the regional transport office (RTO) code of the area. “This suggests that several such groups are active in various parts of the state and even beyond,” the officer added.
On June 8, when a video of an incident of harassment of a girl went viral on social media, the police sprung into action and registered a case against unidentified persons at the Kotwali police station.
The case was filed under Sections 353 (statements conducing to public mischief), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 126 (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Then the police got the videos deleted from social media.
Jaish, one of the arrested accused, is a Unani medicine student, while Shanu is pursuing engineering, it is learnt. While Sehbaz, Sameer and Riyazuddin recorded the videos, Jaish and Shanu uploaded them on social media with objectionable language, the police said, adding that Nabi Hasan, who studies at a madrasa in Shahjahanpur, shared the videos.
During an examination of Nabi’s cellphone, the police claimed to have found multiple videos showing him sexually harassing a minor boy. He has also been booked under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, in addition to other charges.
Nabi is believed to have created a new Instagram account named “Haidari Dal 25” to continue uploading the content after the police began monitoring ‘Haidri Dal Bareilly’, the officials said.
The group came to the police's notice nearly three weeks ago after a video of their activities surfaced online 
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