Image Courtesy:economictimes.indiatimes.com
On April 23, 2022, the District Court Judge Sanjai Kumar, Sitapur, granted bail to Bajrang Muni Das, ‘Mahant’ of the Maharshi Shri Lakshman Das Udasin Ashram. Das had been accused of openly threatening Muslim women with rape as he spoke from his vehicle parked outside a mosque in Khairabad, Uttar Pradesh.
As he stepped out of prison this Sunday, he was quoted by The Telegraph saying, “I don’t regret my statement. I shall continue to protect my Hindu religion and women. I’m ready to go to jail and face such attacks a thousand times.”
Das was arrested by the police on April 13, 2022 from Sitapur, 100 km from state capital Lucknow, six days after the incident, and was charged under sections 298 (utterance or gesture in the sight of that person or places with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person), 354 (sexual harassment, making sexually-coloured remarks) and 509 (using word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). UP ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar had reportedly stated that stringent action would be taken against Das.
But Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) was apprehensive that adequate legal action would not be taken against Das, as the charges against him were just a mild rap on the wrist. Pointing out that the criminal complaint lodged against Das was limited, and should actually contain more serious and comprehensive sections of the law, CJP had urged in a separate complaint with the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, that this be expanded and the investigation be non-partisan. Key sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) like Sections 153, 153A, 153B, 295A, 354A, 503, 504 and 505 were not applied to the hate offender. Besides Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Sections 3 and 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 were missing in the police registered FIR.
A viral video on Twitter, showed Bajrang Muni Das openly threatening Muslim women with sexual assault while addressing supporters from his vehicle parked outside a mosque in Sitapur. Das’s audience comprised people who were part of a procession on the occasion of Hindu New Year. Much like many such processions being taken out recently, they made it a point to halt outside a mosque where Das spoke into a microphone connected to loudspeaker and said, “If you tease a single [Hindu] girl, I will abduct your daughters and daughters-in-law from your house, and rape them in public.” The vile rape threat was filmed on video and went viral online shortly thereafter.
There are several hate instigating videos by Bajrang Muni Das made in the recent past:
“Har mulle ko ghar se aur uske masjid se kheench ke maarunga jo bhi Hindu ki taraf dekha toh”– one more video of Bajrang Muni threatening violence against Muslims. But @sitapurpolice has still not arrested him.
Video by TV9. pic.twitter.com/42N94t0EIp
— Kaushik Raj (@kaushikrj6) April 13, 2022
Here is another video of ‘Mahant’ Bajrang Muni abusing and threatening Muslims. @sitapurpolice@Uppolice https://t.co/BndaJh4QdG pic.twitter.com/FlsM5HBerZ
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 8, 2022
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