Uttar Pradesh Police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Hindutva leader and Dasna Devi temple priest Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi in a video that went viral on social media.
Taking suo motu (on its own) cognisance, the police had come across the video on the night of July 13, and filed an FIR at the Masuri police station in Ghaziabad under IPC Section 505(2) (offence in any place of worship or assembly) on July 14, the Hindustan Times reported.
The FIR states that the priest allegedly used offensive words and derogatory remarks against Gandhi, and held him responsible for murders of Hindus during Partition and also accused him of allegedly “favouring the British and Muslims”, according to the news portal.
Yati, however, denying any knowledge of the video told HT that it is a “practice of the police to keep lodging FIRs against him”. He added., “This is their usual practice to lodge FIRs against me on one pretext or the other. They may have got hold of some old video and registered another FIR. These are my personal thoughts. Gandhi and his followers are responsible for the condition of Hindus. I do not consider him the father of the nation,”
in the video the controversial Hindutva leader has used multiple derogatory and expletives for the Father of the Nation, “which could lead to disruption of peace and rule of law in the society,” as per the statement recorded in the FIR, India Today reported.
Narsinghanand is already facing multiple cases in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh for his alleged hate speeches at a Dharam Sansad held in Haridwar earlier this year.
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Rabia Shireen is a Staff Reporter at The Cognate.
