Image courtesy: India Today
A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against Yati Narsinghanand and other speakers who raised hate speeches at a “Hindu Mahapanchayat” held in Delhi on Sunday, April 3, 2022. According to a news agency report published by many news portals, the hate speech and fake claims such as “50% of Hindus will convert in 20 years if a Muslim becomes the prime minister of the country” and calling Hindus to “take up arms” were given at the “Mahapanchayat Sabha” which was attended by “around 700-800 people.”
According to the police, three FIRs have been lodged and, “Legal action is being taken against those spreading rumours and misinformation using various platforms, including through social media.” No arrests have been made yet, police said.
The ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’, was held without police permission on Sunday, and Hate Offender Yati Narsinghanand, told his followers to “take up arms”. Narsinghanand, who heads the Dasna Devi temple in Uttar Pradesh, and is currently out on bail granted by the Haridwar Sessions Court, on Sunday gave yet another call for communal violence. He, according to multiple news reports, made a speech telling “Hindus to pick up arms”. Narsinghanad claimed Hindus face “threat of conversion and violence” if a “Muslim is made prime minister” reported Indian Express. Delhi Police have already issued a statement that an FIR has been lodged over the inflammatory speeches. “Some of the speakers including Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati… and Suresh Chauhanke, Chief Editor of Sudarshan News, uttered words promoting disharmony, feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will between two communities,” reported IE quoting based on the FIR registered at the Mukharjee Nagar police station.
The “Hindu Mahapanchayat” was held on April 3, 2022, at Burari grounds in North Delhi, even though the Delhi Police had reportedly denied permission for the events. The organisers of this ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’ included those who had organsied similar gatherings in the past where anti-Muslim rhetoric, hate speech, calls to arms, and communal slogans have been raised.
BREAKING: Speaking to @TheQuint, DCP North West Delhi Usha Rangnani says that permission for the #HinduMahapanchayat event scheduled to be held on Sunday, 3 April, has been denied.
The event is being organised by those behind 2021’s anti-Muslim hate speech event at Jantar Mantar pic.twitter.com/d18l9AR8z4
— Meghnad Bose (@MeghnadBose93) April 2, 2022
Did Narsinghanand violate his bail conditions?
Justice Bhushan Pandey had granted Narsinghanand bail noting that the offences reported to have been committed by him are “punishable up to 3 years of imprisonment”. The bail had been granted to Narsinghanand with certain conditions: Court has asked Narsinghanand to take undertaking in front of magistrate Court about not repeating any of such similar acts, in future.
- Narsinghanand will also have to respond to summons by the investigating officer in the case.
- Narsinghanand will not intimidate the witnesses in the case directly or indirectly
- Narsinghanand will not go abroad without the Court’s permission, and is directed to submit the passport, if any, to the investigating authority.
According to a report in The Wire, Narsinghanand, on Sunday claimed that “50% of you (Hindus) will change your faith in the next 20 years,” and “40% Hindus will be killed” if India elected a Muslim PM. He reportedly told the gathering that if they wanted to avoid this, they must man up and said a mard or man was one “who is armed.” He reportedly added that Hindus must “have more children, and teach them to fight.” The news report quoted him saying that the gathering must “watch The Kashmir Files. Just like the people of Kashmir had to leave their land, their daughters and their property behind, you will have to escape and drown in the Indian Ocean. It is the only option you have.”
Another Hate Offender, Suresh Chavhanke then did a show featuring his speech, on his own channel, and asked, “I am a Ram Chandra worshipper, you are Babar’s son. I want Shiv Mandir in Kashi, you fight battles for Gyanvapi masjid… Can there be equality?”
— Suresh Chavhanke “Sudarshan News” (@SureshChavhanke) April 3, 2022
Suresh Chavhanke while addressing a crowd at “Hindu Mahapanchayat” in Delhi said that he is against equal rights and that “Muslims” in India should get the same rights that “Hindus” have in Pakistan.
Suresh is the “editor-in-chief” of an Indian right-wing “news channel.” pic.twitter.com/Usin2j2HUm
— Mahmodul Hassan (@mhassanism) April 3, 2022
हिंदू महापंचायत में पहुँचा हूँ। pic.twitter.com/Dg14YMszHZ
— Suresh Chavhanke “Sudarshan News” (@SureshChavhanke) April 3, 2022
According to a report in the Quint, “The agenda for the ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’” was similar to the Jantar Mantar August 8 event, where right-wing organisations had made anti-Muslim hate speeches and called for violence and massacre against the Muslim community shouting “Jab M***e Kate Jaenge Ram Ram Chillaayenge”, just a few kilometres from the Parliament, which was then in session. Eventually the Delhi Police arrested BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay, event organiser Preet Singh, president of Save India Foundation and Hindu Raksha Dal’s Pinky Chaudhary (real name Bhupendar Tomar), among others.
The Hindutva event on Sunday was attended by most of them apart from Narsinghanand and Sudarshan TV News Editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke who spewed venom against minorities using his TV channel and in public gatherings. On February 7, Sessions Judge Vivek Bharti Sharma granted Narsinghanand bail while observing that the offences invoked against him were punishable up to 3 years of imprisonment. Preet Singh, is out on bail since September 24. Singh was granted bail by the Delhi HC just after a week of his arrest in connection with the raising of anti-Muslim threats calling for violence against Muslims in the forms of slogan at a rally in favour of a uniform civil code at Jantar Mantar. Pinky Chaudhary was granted bail on September 30.
FIR also registered against holding of event without permission & for making provocative speech at event.
Further, due legal action is being taken against those who are spreading rumors/misinformation using various platforms including social media.(2/2)— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) April 4, 2022
Assault on the Media?
According to a report in The Quint, journalists reporting from the ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’ event were allegedly assaulted by right-wing mobs. There were two separate incidents of assault according to the news report. The first involved “Newslaundry’s reporters Shivangi Saxena and Ronak Bhat,” and an FIR has been filed under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC, in this case.
In the other incident, two more journalists were beaten up and The Quint reported that its principal correspondent Meghnad Bose was also manhandled by a mob. These include Meer Faisal, who works at The Hindustan Gazette, photojournalist Mohd Meherbaan, freelance journalist Arbab Ali, and a fifth journalist, who wished to remain anonymous. The five journalists were taken to the Mukherjee Nagar police station. According to the report, an FIR under IPC sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) have been registered in relation to this incident.
Acting on complaints alleging manhandling and assault of journalists during the event at DDA Grounds, Burari on 3rd April, #DelhiPolice has registered two cases under relevant sections of law and investigation taken up.(1/2)
— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) April 4, 2022
The journalists have levied serious allegations of being assaulted/ manhandled/ abused at the event, and that they were taken to the police station.
I and @mdmeharban03 were beaten up because of our muslim identity by Hindu mob. Communal slurs were shouted on me at Hindu mahapanchayat at Burari ground in New Delhi. We had gone there to cover the event. We were called jihadis and attacked for being Muslims.
— Meer Faisal (@meerfaisal01) April 3, 2022
5 journalists, 4 of them Muslim,1 on assignment for @Article14live have been taken by police to the Mukherji Nagar police station in Delhi after a mob at #Hindu #mahapanchayat (for which police had declined permission) discovered their religion, attacked them & deleted videos
— Samar Halarnkar (@samar11) April 3, 2022
@meerfaisal01, @mdmeharban03 and I was attacked, harassed by members of right wing organizations at Hindu Mahapanchayat in Delhi’s Burari ground. We had gone there to cover the event. We were called jihadis and attacked for being Muslims. We are being taken to police station.
— Arbab Ali (@arbabali_jmi) April 3, 2022
BREAKING: Speaking to @TheQuint, DCP North West Delhi Usha Rangnani says that permission for the #HinduMahapanchayat event scheduled to be held on Sunday, 3 April, has been denied.
The event is being organised by those behind 2021’s anti-Muslim hate speech event at Jantar Mantar pic.twitter.com/d18l9AR8z4
— Meghnad Bose (@MeghnadBose93) April 2, 2022
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, reporter Shivangi Saxena said, “While addressing the gathering from the stage, Preet Singh called out my name and asked if whatever he was saying would come under hate speech. Suddenly, the crowd started looking at me. Bhatt and I went back to speak to some people when suddenly Meharban came running to us and said the police were picking up journalists.” Saxena added that while she was rushing to help the fellow journalists, many people from the crowd started blocking her way and asking her to show her press ID card. She told HT that she saw “some people dragging Meharban by his clothes.” Saxena alleged that as she and Bhatt started filming, the mob assaulted Bhatt and tried to snatch her cellphone, stated the news report. She said, “I screamed for help and held onto my phone. Some police personnel were standing close to us but they did nothing. Later, the policemen asked the journalists to sit in the police van. They took them away. Bhatt and I also reached the station, where we filed our complaint. We left from there around 6 P.M.”
The police, however, asserted that none of the journalists was detained. “Some of the reporters willingly, on their own free will, to evade the crowd which was getting agitated by their presence, sat in a PCR (patrolling) van stationed at the venue and opted to proceed to police station for security reasons. No one was detained. Due police protection was provided. For spreading misinformation, due necessary action shall be initiated against such persons,” tweeted Usha Rangnani, who is the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North West).
Brieffacts:Some of the reporters, willingly,on their own free will,to evade the crowd which was getting agitated by their presence,sat in PCR Van stationed at the venue and opted to proceed to Police Stn for security reasons. No one was detained.Due police protection was provided https://t.co/zl7XyDpNE9
— DCP North-West Delhi (@DCP_NorthWest) April 3, 2022
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