Recently, a video of yet another Ajmer dargah cleric mocking Hindu deities has been doing the rounds on social media, leading to calls for his immediate arrest. The cleric has been identified as one Adil Chishty, son of Sayed Sarwar Chishty, the secretary of Anjuman Committee of the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty.
This video comes close at the heels of a video by Ajmer dargah Khadim Salman Chishty where he had offered his house to anyone who beheads suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma in response to her derogatory comments about Prophet Mohammed in a television news debate in June.
In the video released on June 23, Adil Chishty addresses Sharma, and asks how 33 crore of Hindu gods and goddesses existed? He further made allegedly derogatory comments about deities such as Ganesha and Hanuman. He claimed that he came to know about Hindu gods and goddesses in a book written by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.
Taking umbrage to Chishty’s derogatory remarks, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) condemned the incident and demanded the Rajasthan government arrest him immediately. In a video statement released on Twitter, on July 14, Dr Surendra Jain, joint secretary VHP said, “The whole world is aware about the poisonous words of Ajmer Dargah’s Anjuman committe’s secretary Sarwar Chishti and his nephew. It is because of their poisonous words about beheading that an atmosphere of hatred was created in the country and slogans were raised and Kanhaiya (Udaipur tailor) was killed. The kind of video released by Aadil Chishti in which he is seen mocking Hindu deities is highly objectionable and we will not accept it.” He further said, “I ask the Rajasthan government, that if you are serious about protecting Hindu lives and property, then take action against all these people.”
Meanwhile Chisthy has now backtracked from his statements and released another video where he says that his intention was not to hurt any religious feelings of his Hindu brothers and sisters, and that he was simply asking Nupur Sharma questions. He further claimed that the viral video was heavily edited and doctored. Tendering an apology, he said he regretted if anyone’s religious feelings were hurt. But the damage has already been done, given how this was the third video of its kind, another having been uploaded by Gohar Chishty on June 17, where he had raised provocative slogans and given a call for violence that is associated with the brutal killing of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal. While Salman Chishty is in jail, Gohar Chishty is still absconding.
As per Times of India, Superintendent of Police Vikas Sagwan said that an investigation into the viral video was on.
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