300 saints detained on way to riot-torn Gorakhpur

Ayodhya, Feb 5: Over 300 'sadhus' of this holy city were detained by police today while they were proceeding to the riot-hit Gorkahpur town to protest the arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Yogi Adityanath.

The Police said over 300 saints, including Mahant Govind Das and Ram Manohar Das, gathered at the Digambar Akhara near Naya Ghat and staged a demonstration for around two hours.

The 'sadhus' were stopped by the police on Lucknow-Gorakhpur National Highway at Naya Ghat square, while they were on way to Gorakhpur.

Agitated by this, the saints staged a 'dharna' on the highway and damaged two trucks and a police jeep, leading to traffic snarl for three hours.

Meanwhile, Asharfi Bhawan Peethadhishwar Jagatguru Ramanujacharya alleged ''Uttar Pradesh government is harassing the Hindus. It is anti-Muslim. Now, Hindus are aware and they would not tolerate the Muslim appeasement policy of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.'' General Secretary of the Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samiti Mahant Hans Das threatened that they would hold a state wide agitation if the BJP MP was not released soon and all allegations against him were not withdrawn.

Yogi Adityanath was arrested for violating section 144 (prohibitory orders) of the crpc in Gorakhpur recently and was remanded in two-week judicial custody by a court on February 2.

UNI