Gorakhpur, UTTAR PRADESH :

Parvez Parwaz, a 72-year-old former journalist and social activist, died in Gorakhpur District Jail on Sunday while serving a life sentence in a gangrape case. Jail officials said he suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes. He developed breathing difficulties late Saturday night and was taken to the district hospital, where he died around 2:50 am during treatment.

Parwaz had been in custody since September 2018 after a woman accused him and another man of gangrape. A district court sentenced him to life imprisonment in July 2020.

His death has revived attention on his prolonged legal challenge against a 2007 speech by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, then a BJP MP from Gorakhpur. On 27 January 2007, Parwaz recorded Adityanath addressing a gathering near Gorakhpur railway station amid communal tension following a clash during a Muharram procession. Adityanath was quoted saying that for the blood of one Hindu, “we will not get an FIR registered against the administration, but will instead have at least 10 such people killed.”

Violence followed in parts of the city, with reports of at least two deaths and extensive property damage. Parwaz sought an investigation into alleged incitement. A local court rejected his plea, and later efforts, including before the Supreme Court, did not yield the proceedings he sought before his own criminal case led to imprisonment.

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Media / by Muslim Mirror Desk / October 13th, 2026