As controversy rages over Yati Narsinghanand’s controversial remarks about the Prophet Muhammad, his followers on Sunday alleged that the chief priest of the Dasna temple has been detained illegally, which he has denied.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) NK Tiwari said that Narsinghanand has not been arrested and has not been arrested and the police are investigating the case following which legal action will be initiated.
Additional charges were filed against the priest in other states including Thane in Maharashtra and Telangana’s capital Hyderabad, while a protest in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur turned violent with stones being thrown at the Sheikhpura police station.
Many Muslim organizations have called for the cleric’s arrest, while leaders of political parties like the BSP, National Conference and Samajwadi Party have also joined the chorus to take strict action against him.
Meanwhile, leaders of several Hindu outfits met at the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad, where Narsinghanand serves as head, and expressed concern for his safety.
“Hindu outfits and other social organizations have expressed concern over the illegal detention of Maha Mandaleshwar Yeti Narsimahanand Giri,” Yati Narsimahanand Saraswati Foundation General Secretary Udita Tyagi said in a statement.
At the meeting, farmer leader Sahdev Tyagi said the priest was taken “under pressure” from the Dasna temple by police in Wave City to his disciple Rajesh Pehalwan’s home in Bamheta village.
He said the police took him to “police lines where they illegally detained him for two days but he is not here now and he has not appeared in court”.
“If something goes wrong with him, the police will be held responsible for that,” he said.
“Tomorrow a memorandum in this regard will be forwarded to the police commissioner at the police headquarters,” said Udita Tyagi.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) NK Tiwari said they have no information about Narsinghanand’s whereabouts.
On October 3, an FIR was lodged by Sub-inspector Trivendra Singh against Narsinghanand saying that on September 19 he had made derogatory remarks about the community during an event held at Hindi Bhavan in Lohiya Naga and termed it a violation of Section 302 of the BNS ( charged with uttering words or making sounds to intentionally hurt the religious feelings of someone.) Another FIRE was filed by Bhanu Prakash Singh, sub-inspector and in-charge of Dasna area of Wave City police station. In this complaint, the disciples of this priest – Anil Yadav Chota Narsimahanand, Yati Ran Singhanand, Yati Ram Swaroopanand and Yati Nirbhayanand of the Dasna temple – are accused of uttering objectionable words, a video that appeared on social media.
They were booked at the wave city police station under section 302 and 351 of the BNS (dealing with criminal intimidation) After Amravati city of Maharashtra, another FIR was filed in Thane against Narsinghanand, officials said on Sunday.
Based on the complaint of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) president, the Mumbra police in Thane registered a case against him on October 3 under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita such as 196 (promoting enmity between different groups, committing acts discriminating against each other) and 302 (saying words with the intention of intentionally hurting the religious feelings of another person), said an officer at the Mumbra police station.
A large crowd had gathered outside the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad, where he presides, to protest against him on Friday night after videos of his fiery speeches surfaced online, following which security was tightened in the area.
Six people have been arrested for allegedly throwing stones at a police event outside a temple during a protest, officials said on Sunday.
The police also arrested Yuva Shakti Dal president Ravi Gautam and four others on Saturday after a protest was held outside the police headquarters here demanding the arrest of Narsinghanand.
And on Sunday, around a dozen people were violently arrested during a protest outside the Sheikhpura police headquarters against Narasinghanand’s remarks.
A case has been registered against 21 unidentified persons and 40-50 unidentified persons under various sections of the law for stone pelting, they said.
Superintendent of Police (City) Abhimanyu Manglik said, “The incident took place when members of the Muslim community gathered in Sheikhpura Qadeem area to present a memorandum. Among the crowd, some unruly people started throwing stones at the police, which created a tense situation in the area.” Manglik said that no one was injured in the incident. The police have now identified the culprits through the videos of the incident and have issued a warning in the region.
In Uttarakhand, Haridwar police said they have registered four cases after inflammatory slogans were raised during anti-Narsinghanand protests on October 4 and 5 in Laksar, Jwalapur and Sidcul.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Haridwar, Pramendra Doval said the slogans of “Sar tan se juda” allegedly raised in these rallies came under the category of hate speech.
He said that the Haridwar police social media also continues to monitor various platforms and legal action will be taken against disturbing the peace or sending provocative messages.
Another FIR has been registered in Hyderabad against Narsinghanand by the Cyber Crime police station under relevant provisions of IT Act and BNS following a complaint filed by AIMIM led by Asaduddin Owaisi.
BSP chief Mayawati demanded that the Center and the state government take strict action against the priest for his “hate speech”.
”In Ghaziabad, UP, the Mahant of the Dasna Devi Temple also made hate speech against Islam, which created unrest and discord across the region and in many parts of the country. The police have taken action against the protesters, but the main suspects remain unpunished,” said the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in a post by X.
Criticizing Naringhananad’s remarks, NC Jammu and Kashmir spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said that they not only tarnish India’s reputation of religious harmony and tolerance but have the potential to create social discord.
BJP MP from Ghaziabad’s Loni seat Nand Kishore Gurjar, however, defended Narsinghanand. He revealed that the crowd that had gathered on Friday night to protest against Yati Narsinghanand threw stones at the Dasna Devi temple here and the police had to “shoot” the attackers.
The police ” made a crime drama at night, but the police had to shoot 10-20 people and meet them. This is an attack on the entire Hindutva. If 10-20 people died in one night, it means that there are no people creating such chaos,” he is heard saying this in a video that appeared on social media.
Narsinghanand has many charges against him, including allegations of making a hate speech at a conference in Haridwar (Uttarakhand) in December 2021.
(This story was not edited by News18 staff and was published by the syndicated news agency – PTI)
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