Haridwar: The Uttarakhand Police on Thursday registered a case at the Haridwar Kotwali police station in relation to the viral video which surfaced earlier this week, displaying saints at the Haridwar 'Dharma Sansad' or religious gathering, held between December 17 and 19, giving inflammatory speeches.
The state police confirmed their filing of the case on Thursday by a tweet, saying, "Taking cognizance of the video that is going viral on social media for spreading hatred by giving provocative speeches against a particular religion, a case has been registered against Wasim Rizvi alias Jitendra Narayan Tyagi and others under Section 153A IPC in Kotwali Haridwar and legal proceedings are in progress".
The legal action follows outrage on social media by several noted personalities, both Indian and non-Indian, after the videos surfaced on Twitter and other social media platforms a few days back.
RTI activist and Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale tweeted out, also on Thursday, against the inflammatory speeches by saints present at the gathering, saying that he had filed a complaint to file an FIR against those who had made said speeches. He also attached a copy of his complaint alongside his tweet.
"I've filed a complaint with SHO, Jwalapur PS in Haridwar against the #HaridwarHateAssembly conducted from 17th-20th December at Ved Niketan Dham. Failing the registration of an FIR against the organizers & speakers in 24 hrs, a plaint shall be made to the Judicial Magistrate.", his tweet read.
Actress Swara Bhaskar, too, tweeted out one of the videos in question, tagging IPS officer and Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar.
Former tennis star and sports icon Martina Navratilova retweeted the video, asking "What is going on?".
The reactions follow a Twitter thread of videos, compiled and tweeted out by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair. The thread, with a total of 13 videos attached, shows multiple Saints making inflammatory comments against various religious groups, with some seen making threats.
"A Thread with **TRIGGER WARNING*** A three day hate speech conclave was organized by hate monger Yati Narsinghanand. At the event, multiple calls to k!ll minorities and attack their religious spaces were made. #HaridwarHateAssembly Thread", Zubair's tweet on Wednesday read.
However, speaking to ETV Bharat, Swami Anand Swarup, president of Shankaracharya Parishad in Haridwar, alleged that statements made in the gathering were being distorted.
"Many things were said in the Dharma Sansad, out of which many elements have been presented in a distorted manner. The things that were said there were to protect Hindus and to protect Hindutva. Sant samaj (the community of saints) absolutely stands by these words. There is nothing wrong in the suggestion made in the Sansad that one should keep weapons at home to keep themselves strong."
The gathering included around 500 Mahamandaleshwar Mahants and 700 to 800 other saints.
