Haridwar Dharma Sansad case: FIR lodged, no arrest yet: Police

Dehradun, Dec 24: Despite filing FIR the Uttarakhand cops have not made any arrest yet over the hate speech by religious leaders at a "Dharma Sansad" held in Hardiwar recently.

Based on a complaint filed by a Jwalapur resident, an FIR has been lodged against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi aka Waseem Rizvi, and others in connection with the event, Haridwar Kotwali Station House Officer (SHO) Rakinder Singh told PTI, adding that an investigation in the matter is underway.

Tyagi, who converted to Hinduism earlier this month, changed his name from Waseem Rizvi."We have also received some footage of the event from the complainant, which are being looked into," the SHO said.

He said that arrests will be done only after the conclusion of the probe. The FIR has been registered under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc. and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony).

At the event, extremely provocative speeches were allegedly made by the participants. It was organised at the Ved Niketan Dham in Haridwar last week. Some religious leaders called for the killing of people from minority community and urged people to take up arms and shoot a former prime minister of the country.

The "Dharma Sansad" was organised by Yati Narasimhanand Giri of the Juna Akhada, who is already under police scanner for making hate speeches and inciting violence against the minorities in the past.

Many political parties including TMC and Congress have come down heavily on the hate speech made by the Hindu religious leaders, demanding the authorities to take action.