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21-year-old youth from Delhi was sending lyricist Javed Akhtar threatening emails for his views on a fatwa against working women.

A 21-year-old from Delhi was held on Monday for sending threatening emails to lyricist Javed Akhtar for his views on a fatwa issued by a Muslim seminary. Anees-ul-Islam Abdul Kalam, who works in the hospitality sector, was arrested in Mumbai and produced in a local court, which remanded him to police custody till July 29.

A few months ago, the Darul Uloom Deoband had issued a fatwa saying it was un-Islamic for women to work in offices in proximity with men, and declared that families accepting their income was against Sharia law. Akhtar had participated in a debate on a TV channel on May 11. Speaking against it, he had reportedly called a Muslim cleric ‘insane’ for the fatwa against working women. After receiving threatening emails following the show’s telecast, he lodged a police complaint.

Investigators traced the email to a cyber cafe in Humayunpur in Delhi. They traced the sender’s whereabouts in Delhi, Kanpur and Jaloun, but he managed to dodge them. In preliminary interrogation, Anees said he was offended by Akhtar’s views on the fatwa. When contacted, Akhtar said, “I have heard that someone has been arrested. I thank the police for the prompt action.”