Haridwar hate speech case: Religious leader Yati Narsinghanand arrested by Uttarakhand Police
The Uttarakhand Police on Saturday picked up Yati Narasinghanand from his dharna site in Haridwar in connection with the case of Dharma Sansad where alleged hate speeches against Muslims were delivered.
Yati Narasinghanand has been brought to a police station, Haridwar Superintendent of Police (City) Swatantra Kumar told PTI. However, the officer said, it was technically not an arrest.
Narasinghanand, the controversial priest of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad, had organised the event in Haridwar from December 17-19.
He was picked up from where he was sitting on a dharna in protest against the recent arrest of another accused in the case, Jitendra Narayan Tyagi. Tyagi was formerly known as Waseem Rizvi and changed his name after converting to Hinduism.
Tyagi who headed the Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board before converting to Hinduism was the first person to have been arrested in connection with the case a couple of days back. Further action will depend on how the investigation progresses, the official said.
Both Tyagi and Narasinghanand are among those named accused in the FIRs lodged in connection with the event. This is the second arrest made by the Uttarakhand Police in this case, the first being Waseem Rizvi, who is now known as Jitendra Narayan Tyagi.
As quoted by news agency ANI, CO City, Haridwar, said on Saturday, “Yati Narsinghanand has been arrested today, in connection with a case pertaining to derogatory remarks against women. He has 2-3 cases registered against him.”
The arrests of the prime accused in the Haridwar hate speech row came soon after the Supreme Court urged the Uttarakhand government to take action against the guilty in the case, as several days had passed since the incident.
The priest of the Dasna Temple in Ghaziabad, Yati Narsinghanand, had organised the Dharma Sansad in Haridwar from December 17 to 19, where highly provocative speeches were made against Muslims. After this, the police issued a notice against the priest and Sadhvi Annapurna, who was one of the speakers at the event accused of hate speech.