Key riot accused Fahim Khan’s house being demolished in Nagpur on Monday. NAGPUR: Mohammad Hamid Engineer , a former govt employee turned firebrand commentator, is back in the spotlight after his alleged role in mentoring key riot accused Fahim Khan . Security agencies, long familiar with Engineer's involvement in community affairs, have turned their attention to his social media activity following the Nagpur riots on the night of March 17.
Engineer, president of Minorities Democratic Party , was arrested on March 21 for allegedly inciting the riots and charged with sedition. A long-time figure in minority politics, he had allegedly flooded social media with inflammatory posts before the riots. Engineer first gained attention over 15 years ago when his tabloid Iman Ki Awaz foreshadowed serial blasts in Gujarat and later in Jaipur.
Copies of the publication were sent to top Gujarat police officers, with Engineer later claiming he had merely pointed out a growing factional dispute within his community that could lead to bloodshed over control of religious shrines. Sources said his writings exposed the influence of a hard-line sect allegedly behind acts of violence. Some security officials saw value in Engineer's revelations, using him as an insider to highlight internal rifts within his community on a broader stage.
He crafted an image as an anti-terrorism crusader. But it didn't take long for him to switch from whistle-blower to wanted man. His entanglement in sectarian conf.
