UP: 47 booked for making communal remarks during protest against non-veg hotels in Shamli

Muzaffarnagar (UP): Forty-seven Hindu activists have been booked in Shamli district for allegedly making communal statements during a meeting held to demand the closure of non-vegetarian hotels and restaurants, police said on Sunday.

The Hindu panchayat led by Mahant Swami Yashvir of Yog Sadhan Ashram Bhagra -- who has been named in the FIR -- was allegedly held in Thanabhawan town on September 29 without permission, they said.

Last Sunday, Hindu activists, including Yashvir, gathered outside a non-vegetarian hotel, demanding that all such establishments within hundred metres of temples in the town be shut.

During the protest, they allegedly chanted religious slogans and made provocative statements against Muslims, according to police.

Station House Officer (SHO) Virender Kasana said, "A case has been registered against 47 Hindu activists, including seven named individuals, under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Mahant Swami Yashvir is also named in the FIR lodged on September 30." In response to the police case lodged, Hindu activists have announced plans to stage a protest on October 10, opposing the charges levelled against their fellow activists.