Uttar Pradesh: Mahant allegedly threatens to rape Muslim women, case registered
A video of a saffron-clad man purportedly making hate speeches and “rape threats” against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district surfaced on social media on Thursday. Six days after the incident, the police registered a case and started investigating the matter.
Sitapur Police has tweeted and said that in the viral video case of Khairabad police station area, a case has been registered against the concerned under appropriate sections as per rules. Based on the available evidence, necessary legal action is being ensured in advance as per rules.
थाना खैराबाद क्षेत्र के वायरल वीडियो प्रकरण में संबंधित के विरुद्ध नियमानुसार समुचित धाराओं में अभियोग पंजीकृत किया जा चुका है, उपलब्ध साक्ष्यों के आधार पर नियमानुसार अग्रिम आवश्यक विधिक कार्यवाही सुनिश्चित की जा रही है। .@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/X17MX4kHv0
— Sitapur Police (@sitapurpolice) April 8, 2022
According to news agency Bhasha/PTI, the two-minute video containing the hate speech is said to have been recorded on April 2, when a person identified as Mahant Bajrang Muni Das of Maharishi Shri Laxman Das Udasi Ashram of Khairabad town in the district took out a procession on the occasion of Navratri and Hindu New Year.
In the above video, Bajrang Muni Das can be heard saying that if a Hindu girl is molested by a person of a particular community, he himself will rape a woman from that community. The said person also made some other objectionable remarks.
It is alleged that when the procession reached near a mosque, the said person started giving hate speech on loudspeaker.
In the video the said person is heard saying, ‘I am telling you this with all my love that if even a single Hindu girl is molested by you in Khairabad, I will bring your daughter and daughter-in-law out of your house and rape her. .’
https://twitter.com/zoo_bear/status/1512036559960248323?s=20&t=Us9FXtONgT61sOhTalcZGg
Sitapur Police has started investigation by Additional Superintendent of Police (North) Rajiv Dixit after the video surfaced on social media. Police said that legal action will be ensured as per rules on the basis of facts and evidences revealed in the investigation.
A man in police uniform can also be seen in the video. The crowd also shouts ‘Jai Shri Ram’ during the remarks of the saffron-clad man. This person has also accused of plotting his own murder and said that an amount of Rs 28 lakh has been collected for this.
Another video related to this which is going viral on social media. Four policemen are seen in it and three of them are in the same vehicle with the priest when he is giving hate speech. People are raising questions on why the FIR was registered after six days of the incident and why no further action was taken.
Sharing the video, Mohammad Zubair, co-founder of fact-check website Alt News, said that the video was shot on April 2, but no action was taken by the police even after five days.
Here is the same video taken from a different angle.. How many Police Personals can you see in this video while the Mahant is giving Rape threats to Muslim Women?
CC : @sitapurpolice @Uppolice #ArrestBajrangMuni pic.twitter.com/VxWD2V4xXe— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 8, 2022
Responding to his tweet, Sitapur Police said that a senior officer is probing the matter and action will be taken based on the facts.
Following Mohammad Zubair’s post, several Twitter users demanded action against the religious leader, who has been identified by some as ‘Bajrang Muni’.
Users have taken up the matter with the UN human rights body and the National Commission for Women and demanded strict intervention.
The National Commission for Women condemned the remark and demanded the arrest of Pujari. “Police should not remain mute spectators in such incidents and appropriate measures should be taken by them to deter people from using such derogatory language against women,” the commission said in a statement.
