Haridwar hate speech: Jitendra Narayan Tyagi arrested in Dharam Sansad case
This development comes after days of issuance of notice by the Supreme Court to the Uttarakhand government regarding the issue of “hate speeches”.
FollowIn a big development, Jitendra Tyagi alias Wasim Rizwi was arrested from Roorkee in Haridwar district on Thursday regarding the issue of “hate speeches” at a ‘Dharam Sansad’ (religious gathering) at Haridwar last month. Rizvi who changed his name to Jitendra Narayan Tyagi after converting to Hinduism is among more than 10 people named in the FIRs lodged in connection with the case. He was the former chairman of Shia Waqf Board.
A senior police official said in Haridwar that Tyagi was arrested from Haridwar and was taken to the Kotwali police station for interrogation. Sources said that Tyagi was accompanied by Mahant Swami Narsimhanand Giri, who was also an accused in the matter, but he was not arrested.
This development comes after days of issuance of notice by the Supreme Court to the Uttarakhand government regarding the issue of “hate speeches”.
This is the first arrest in the case. Some participants at the Dharma Sansad held in Haridwar from December 17-19 have been accused of delivering highly provocative speeches against Muslims.
Also read: Arrest warrant issued against Swami Prasad Maurya for 2014 hate speech
When asked whether more arrests will follow, the SSP said it will depend on how the investigation progresses.
The three-day ‘Dharam Sansad’ was organised between December 17-19 at Ved Niketan Ashram at Haridwar by one Yati Narsmhananda, a local seer. The event was attended by saints and seers and some BJP leaders. Soon after the meet, videos purportedly containing provocative speeches by some seers and others went viral on social media.
The Uttarakhand government was under tremendous pressure from different quarters to take action against those who had delivered the speeches at the event.
A case was registered against Tyagi and some others under section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence and language) following uproar over the alleged hate speeches. The state government had also formed a special investigation team to probe the matter.
