Haridwar hate speech: Yati Narsinghanand among 2 more accused named in FIR

While the FIR was lodged on December 22 on the complaint of one Gulbahar Khan under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups and acts prejudicial to harmony) of the IPC, it only named former Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi, who recently converted to Hinduism and changed his name to Jitendra Narayan Tyagi. The names of Saint Dharamdas Maharaj and Annapurna Maa were added to the FIR last week.

Haridwar city circle officer (CO) Shekhar Suyal told The Indian Express that they have added the names of Yati Narsinghanand, a controversial Hindutva leader who had organised the Haridwar event, and Sagar Sindhuraj Maharaj from Roorkee to the criminal case now.

“The FIR already had three names and on Saturday we added two more names, taking the number of accused to five in total. These names were added following investigation in the case. As the investigation is still going on, more names might be added,” said the CO, adding that no arrest has been made in the case so far.

Meanwhile, a massive protest was held outside the Uttarakhand police headquarters and the State Secretariat here Saturday against the ‘Dharam Sansad’. Those protesting, mainly locals belonging to the Muslim community, demanded immediate arrest of the accused in the case. Starting at around 11 am, the protest went on for about 2-3 hours following which the protesters were given assurance about proper legal action against those who made hate speeches at the Dharam Sansad even calling allegedly for genocide of minorities.

Uttarakhand DGP said that those protesting outside the police headquarters were against the Dharam Sansad and were demanding action against the accused. “We have assured them that the law will take its own course and no culprit will be spared. We already have named five people in connection to the event and proper action will be taken against them,” he said.

During the 17-19 December religious conclave, repeated calls were allegedly given by several speakers to wage a war against Muslims and reduce their population in India.

Narsinghanand, who is already facing several FIRs in UP, called for a “war against Muslims” and urged “Hindus to take up weapons” to ensure a “Muslim didn’t become the Prime Minister in 2029.”

Former Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay was among those who attended the conclave and presented Narsinghanand a copy of the Constitution.

“The only subject of this Dharam Sansad is that in 2029 the Prime Minister of India will be a Muslim. This is not a baseless thought and those who understand the demographic change on ground understand this — demographic change meaning the increase of Muslim population ratio and decrease of Hindu population ratio. The way Muslim population is increasing and our population is decreasing, only in 7-8 years so much will change that only Muslims will be seen on roads. I have been trying to tell this to people for last 23 years,” Yati Narsinghanand had told the Dharam Sansad.

“When the country has a Muslim PM in 2029, given the history of Islam, in next 20 years 50 per cent Hindus will convert, 40 per cent Hindus will be killed. Only 10 per cent Hindus will remain, who will stay somewhere in America, Canada, London and Europe or UNO refugee camps in India. There will be no mutts, no temples and all our mothers and sisters will be raped and sold in market. After capturing India, the Islamic jihad will be the most powerful and this jihad will reach to person of every belief,” he alleged.

In his speech at the conclave, Dharamdas Maharaj from Patna said India was “turning Islamic” even with Hindus being 80 per cent of the population. Criticising former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s speech in Parliament that minorities should have the first right over resources, Dharamdas said: “When I read that in newspapers, I wished I was an MP, had a revolver in hand, and had turned into Nathuram. I would have emptied all six bullets into Manmohan Singh.”

Annapurna Maa, Mahamandleshwar of Niranjani Akhada, told the conclave that if anyone was a threat to Sanatan Dharma and Hindutva, she would not think twice before taking up weapons even if she was “defamed like (Nathuram) Godse”. “If I can wield a knife, I will take up a knife. If I can use a sword, then a sword… If nothing, I will use my claws like a lioness… I want you to promise that there will not be a Muslim PM in 2029. If we have to finish their population, we are ready to kill and go to jail,” Annapurna Maa said.

Sagar Sindhuraj Maharaj from Roorkee suggested that even if one has to keep a mobile phone of just Rs 5,000, he should “buy weapons of at least Rs 1 lakh”. “Always keep swords and canes in your home at every time. If you leave the house with your weapon, there should be something in the house so that if someone comes, cannot leave alive,” he said.