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Kamlesh Tiwari (16 January 1969 – 18 October 2019) was an Indian politician who founded the Hindu Samaj Party in 2017.
Azam Khan, a politician from the Samajwadi Party, responded to Union finance minister Arun Jaitley's statements in support of decriminalization of homosexuality, by labelling members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as "homosexuals". Tiwari retaliated with comments about Islam's prophet Muhammad, which were considered derogatory by Indian Muslims, who protested, with some people calling for beheading Tiwari.
Tiwari was subsequently arrested, charged under the National Security Act, and jailed for a few months by the Uttar Pradesh Police, before his release and subsequent murder. Thirteen people have been charged by the UP police in relation to the killing: 8 have been charged for murder and conspiracy, and the other 5 for harboring the killers and concealing evidence. The main accused, Syed Asim Ali, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on 25 July 2024.
Tiwari was attracted to the Hindutva form of Hindu nationalism in the 1990s. He organized groups of young Hindutva warriors who marched from Lucknow to Ayodhya and participated in the demolition of the mosque at a disputed religious site. He later joined the Bajrang Dal, and was said to admire leaders such as Ashok Singhal, Lal Krishna Advani, Sadhvi Rithambara, and Uma Bharati.
He claimed to be the president of Hindu Mahasabha, and also founded the Hindu Samaj Party in 2017. Tiwari contested the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly election, from Lucknow, in 2012, and attempted to gain a Lok Sabha seat, from Faizabad, in the 2019 Indian general election, but was defeated both times.
About one hundred thousand Muslims protested in Muzaffarnagar, with some demanding the death penalty for Tiwari, (the death penalty being reserved in India for the "rarest of rare" crimes), with some demanding that he be "beheaded" for "insulting" Muhammad. Rallies protesting his statement were held by several Islamic groups in other parts of India, some of them demanding the death penalty.
On 3 December 2015, Tiwari was arrested in Lucknow by Uttar Pradesh police, Who was Kamlesh Tiwari, the Hindu Samaj Party leader killed in broad daylight in Lucknow?, India Today (18 October 2019) for his remarks on 2 December, and charged under the National Security Act by the Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh state government. Kamlesh Tiwari may contest U.P. bypolls, Mohammad Ali, The Hindu (20 September 2016), Quote: "Mr. Tiwari, who was granted bail last week by a Lucknow court, will remain in jail until the Allahabad High Court decides on his plea against the slapping of the National Security Act (NSA) on him by the State government." He was jailed for several months for his comment, having been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 153-A (promoting enmity between groups on the grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).
The protests demanding capital punishment for Tiwari triggered counter-protests by Hindu groups who accused Muslim groups of demanding enforcement of Shariat and laws against blasphemy in India. His detention under National Security Act was revoked by the Allahabad High Court on 30 September 2016.
According to the post-mortem report, he was stabbed 15 times and shot once.
According to the police, the pistol used in the murder was bought in Surat and the murder was planned in Dubai. They also confirmed that Tiwari's comment on Muhammad was the motive for his murder.
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