Suspense over Narsinghanand's whereabouts; more protests, FIRs as controversy over his remarks rages

Ghaziabad (UP): As controversy raged over Yati Narsinghanand's objectionable remarks against Prophet Muhammad, his supporters on Sunday alleged that the Dasna temple head priest is being illegally kept in detention by police, which denied the claim.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) N K Tiwari said that Narsinghanand has neither been arrested nor detained and the police are probing the case following which action would be initiated as per law.

More FIRs were filed against the priest in other states including in Thane in Maharashtra and Telangana capital Hyderabad, while a protest in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur turned violent with stones pelted on Sheikhpura police post.

Several Muslim organisations have called for the arrest of the priest, and leaders of political parties like the BSP, the National Conference and the Samajwadi Party have also joined the chorus for strict action against him.

Meanwhile, leaders of several Hindu outfits met at the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad, where Narsinghanand serves as the head, and expressed concern about his safety.

"The Hindu outfits and other social organisations expressed concern over the illegal detention of Maha Mandaleshwar Yeti Narsimahanand Giri," General Secretary of Yati Narsimahanand Saraswati Foundation Udita Tyagi said in a statement.

At the meeting, farmer leader Sahdev Tyagi claimed that the priest was taken "under pressure" from the Dasna temple by the Wave City police to the house of his disciple Rajesh Pehalwan in Bamheta village.

He claimed the cops took him to "police lines and kept him for two days illegally but he is not there now and has not been produced before the court".

"In case anything wrong happens to him, the police will be held responsible for it," he said.

"Tomorrow a memorandum in this regard will be handed over to the police commissioner at the police headquarters," Udita Tyagi said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) N K Tiwari said they had no information about Narsinghanand's whereabouts.

On October 3, an FIR was lodged by Sub-inspector Trivendra Singh against Narsinghanand stating that on September 19 he had made derogatory remarks against a community during an event at Hindi Bhavan in Lohiya Naga and termed it as a violation of Section 302 of BNS (deals with the offence of uttering words or making sounds to intentionally hurt someone’s religious feelings.) Another FIR was lodged by Bhanu Prakash Singh, sub-inspector and area beat in-charge Dasna area of Wave City police station. In this complaint, the priest's disciples-- Anil Yadav Chota Narsimahanand, Yati Ran Singhanand, Yati Ram Swaroopanand and Yati Nirbhayanand of Dasna temple -- have been accused of making objectionable remarks, a video of which had appeared on social media.

They have been booked at wave city police station under sections 302 and 351 of BNS (deals with criminal intimidation) After Maharashtra's Amravati city, another FIR has been filed in Thane against Narsinghanand, officials said on Sunday.

Based on the complaint by the president of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the Mumbra police in Thane registered the case against him on October 3 under various Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections like 196 (promoting enmity between different groups, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 302 (intentionally uttering words to deliberately wound the religious sentiments of another person), an official from Mumbra police station said.

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 inflammatory remarks appeared online, following which security was stepped up around the premises.

Six people have been arrested for allegedly pelting stones at a police party outside the temple during the protest, officials said on Sunday.

Police also arrested the president of Yuva Shakti Dal, Ravi Gautam, and four others on Saturday after they held a protest outside the police headquarters here demanding the arrest of Narsinghanand.

Also on Sunday, nearly a dozen persons were taken into custody for violence during a protest outside the police post in Sheikhpura against Narasinghanand's remarks.

A case has been registered against 21 named and 40-50 unknown individuals under various sections of the law for pelting stones, they said.

Superintendent of Police (City) Abhimanyu Manglik said, "The incident occurred when members of the Muslim community gathered at the Sheikhpura Qadeem post to submit a memorandum. Amid the crowd, some unruly elements began throwing stones at the police post, creating a tense situation in the area." Manglik said that no one was injured in the incident. Police are now identifying the perpetrators through videos of the incident and have issued a high alert in the district.

In Uttarakhand, police in Haridwar said that they have filed four cases after inflammatory slogans were raised during protests against Narsinghanand on October 4 and 5 in Laksar, Jwalapur and Sidcul.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Haridwar, Pramendra Doval said that slogans such as "Sar tan se juda" allegedly raised in the rallies fall under the category of hate speech.

He said that the social media cell of Haridwar Police is also continuously monitoring various platforms and strict legal action will be taken against disturbing peace or sending inflammatory messages.

Another FIR was registered in Hyderabad against Narsinghanand by the Cyber Crime police station under relevant provisions of the IT Act and BNS following a complaint lodged by the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM.

BSP chief Mayawati demanded that the Centre and state government take strict action against the priest for his "hate speech".

"In Ghaziabad, UP, the Mahant of Dasna Devi Temple once again made hate speeches against Islam, which has created unrest and tension in the entire area and many parts of the country. The police took action against the protesters, but the main culprits remained unpunished," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said in a post on X.

Condemning Naringhananad's remarks, NC's Jammu and Kashmir spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said they not only tarnish India's reputation of religious harmony and tolerance but also have the potential to incite communal tensions.

BJP MLA from Ghaziabad's Loni seat Nand Kishore Gurjar, however, has defended Narsinghanand. He alleged that the crowd that had gathered on Friday night to protest against Yati Narsinghanand had pelted stones at the Dasna Devi temple here and police should have "shot" the attackers.

The police "did a drama of lathi charge at night, but the police should have shot 10-20 people and then encountered them. This is an attack on the entire Hindutva. If 10-20 people die in a night, then there are no people who create such ruckus,'' he is heard saying in a video that appeared on social media.

Narsinghanand has several cases against him, including for allegedly making a hate speech at a conclave in Haridwar (Uttarakhand) in December 2021.