UP: Seer held for Sitapur hate speech

Lucknow, April 13

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday arrested Bajrang Muni Das of Maharishi Shri Laxman Das Udasi Ashram, days after he allegedly made a hate speech and issued a “rape threat” in Sitapur.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar told PTI that police arrested him in Sitapur.

Bajrang Muni Das, the mahant of Maharshi Shri Lakshman Das Udaseen Ashram in Khairabad town of Sitapur, had allegedly made a hate speech against Muslims on April 2. A video of it later surfaced on social media platforms.

In the two-minute video of the speech made outside a mosque, he could be heard using the term “jehadi” to refer to a community and threatening them if any Hindu girl is harassed by any man of that community, he would himself rape their women.

A video of him apologising for his statement surfaced on Friday evening, hours after police lodged an FIR against him.

Questioning the delay in the arrest of the seer, the Samajwadi Party had on Wednesday called the ruling BJP the “biggest enemy of brotherhood”.

“Why are police still empty handed? The government should answer. When will the bulldozer run on the accused? The CM should tell,” the party asked in a tweet.

The post was followed by another tweet by SP president Akhilesh Yadav in which he asked CM Yogi Adityanath to act against the criminals hiding behind a saint’s robe.