Youth held in theft case, was booked for endangering country’s sovereignty in separate FIR: Rajkot police

THE RAJKOT City Police on Friday arrested a 20-year-old youth from Hyderabad, Telangana, for allegedly stealing Rs1.5 lakh from a friend.

However, this accused, Asif alias Budho Hanif Kundha, is wanted in another case registered at the CID Cybercrime police station under charges as serious as “endangering India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity” after he allegedly posted videos online in which he used “abusive language” for Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi.

TheIndian Expresshas learnt that Kundha was booked under such serious sections after he allegedly uploaded at least three videos on social media, purportedly alluding to disrespect shown to a particular community, specifically mentioning the desecration of holy scripture and the image of a leader, and used abusive language for Sanghavi, claiming that no action was taken for the alleged desecration.

Sources in the Gujarat Police told the paper that Kundha made the claims of “desecration” after seeing some videos on social media shown to him by a friend.

While Kundha is a resident of Rajkot city, police said that he had been working with a travel firm inHyderabadfor the past several months.

While the videos in question have since been removed from his social media handle, another video, uploaded on March 10, purportedly shows Kundha apologising to Sanghavi and the Rajkot Police.

Kundha’s arrest, however, came following an FIR filed against him at Rajkot Taluka police station on March 11, under charges of theft on the basis of a complaint by his friend, Salman Kareem Nakum, who alleged that he had given the keys to his house to Asif Kundha when his entire family had gone to attend a marriage function.

The FIR alleges that Kundha had stolen Rs 1.5 lakh from his home, which was the amount received by his father as his share after the government acquired his grandfather’s property “to build the Rajkot International Airport at Hirasar.”
However, there was an FIR against Kundha on March 9, at the CID Cybercrime police station inGandhinagaron behalf of the State, where Kundha has been booked under BNS sections 152 (committing acts endangering India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, place of birth, language), 353(2) (making or circulating false information, rumors, or alarming news that promotes hatred or enmity between different groups; as well as under IT Act sections 67 and 67(a) (which deals with publishing or transmitting obscene or sexually explicit material), The Indian Express has learnt.

Notably, BNS section 152 replaced IPC section 124A, the colonial era law on sedition.

A Supreme Court bench consisting of the current Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, had, back in August 2025, questioned if the “potentiality of abuse” of the law could be grounds to declare it unconstitutional.

The Indian Expressreached out to an officer at the CCoE who is investigating this case, but the officer declined to comment on the case, deeming it “sensitive” and saying that an official statement would be published after the CCoE arrested Kundha from the custody of the Rajkot City Police.

Meanwhile, PI Jayesh Kaila of the Rajkot City Cybercrime Police told the Indian Express that they had been looking to arrest Kundha for the theft case lodged against him in their jurisdiction and declined to comment on the case against him in Gandhinagar.

However, an official statement of the Rajkot City Police in connection with this case stated, “On the social media platform… The accused has committed a serious criminal act by spreading rumours on the basis of religion and spreading hatred and enmity among people, inciting violent activities, hurting religious sentiments and encouraging separatist activities and threatening the unity and integrity of India through video posts.

A case of theft has been registered against the ID holder at Gandhinagar, CID Cyber Crime Police Station under BNS sections 152, 196, 353(2) and IT Act sections 67 and 67(A).

The accused was also booked by Rajkot Taluka Police for theft.”
Brendan Dabhi works with The Indian Express, focusing his comprehensive reporting primarily on Gujarat.

He covers the region's most critical social, legal, and administrative sectors, notably specializing at the intersection of health, social justice, and disasters.

Health and Public Policy: He has deep expertise in healthcare issues, including rare diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the complex logistics of organ transplants, and public health challenges like drug-resistant TB and heat health surveillance.

His on-ground reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic and Mucormycosis was critical in exposing healthcare challenges faced by marginalized communities in Gujarat.

Social Justice and Legal Administration: He reports on the functioning of the legal and police system, including the impact of judicial philosophy, forensics and crucial administrative reforms (.

He covers major surveillance and crackdown exercises by the Gujarat police and security on the international border.

Disaster and Crisis Management: His work closely tracks how government and civic bodies respond to large-scale crises, providing essential coverage on the human and administrative fallout of disasters including cyclones, floods, conflict, major fires and reported extensively on the AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad.

Civic Infrastructure and Governance: Provides timely reports on critical civic failures,  including large scale infrastructure projects by the railways and civic bodies, as well as  the enforcement of municipal regulations and their impact on residents and heritage....

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