At least 13 persons have been arrested in connection with the Oct 4 protest outside the Dasna Devi temple against its head priest Yati Narsinghanand for his alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad (SAW) during an event at Hindi Bhawan in Ghaziabad on Sep 29, a senior police official said.
The protestors when stopped outside the Dasna Devi temple resorted to stone-pelting and prevented police from discharging their official duties, according to police’s suo moto First Information Report (FIR).
“We have so far arrested 13 persons in connection with the Oct 4 protest. We are also probing the conspiracy and other angles behind the buildup,” Surendra Nath Tewari, deputy commissioner of police (rural zone) was quoted as saying on Oct 9.
He added, “Security has been tightened at the temple complex.” The arrests were made between Oct 5 and 8, according to police.
A video of Narsinghanand purportedly making the controversial remarks was widely shared on social media, triggering protests across Uttar Pradesh and some other parts of the country with protesters demanding stringent action against the head priest.
Narsinghanand, meanwhile, has been “missing” since the night of Oct 4, with his aides and supporters claiming that he was taken away by the police citing security concerns. Police have maintained that Narsinghanand is not in their custody.
On Oct 7, hundreds of Narsinghanand’s supporters protested outside Ghaziabad Police Lines seeking to know the whereabouts of the priest. The protesters alleged that the violence outside the temple on Oct 4 was a planned act.
Also on Oct 7, his supporters met senior police officers at the Ghaziabad Police Lines to seek his whereabouts but police told them that he was not in their custody.
Pertinently, police lodged a suo motu FIR at Wave City police station against 100-150 unidentified persons for holding a protest on Oct 4 outside the Dasna Devi temple. “…About 100-150 persons gathered outside the Dasna Devi temple and raised slogans against the remarks made against Muhammad Paigamber Sahab… When stopped, they resorted to stone-pelting and prevented discharge of official duties,” the FIR stated.
Leaders of the Muslim community, however, denied any conspiracy angle and said the arrest of their community members in connection with the Oct 4 protest was uncalled for.
“The conspiracy theory is projected to divert attention from the main issue — legal action against Narsinghanand after the police filed an FIR against him. Now, he is missing and there is no action,” Maulana Mohammad Shaban Qasmi, president, of Jamiat Ulama (Ghaziabad) was quoted as saying.
“On Oct 4, many youth from Dasna were heading to a nearby banquet hall to attend a meeting. They were proceeding on the main Dasna road which also houses the temple. There was no attempt to disrupt peace outside the temple that night,” Qasmi denied.
Qasmi regretted police arrested many young men in connection with the incident but there was no action against the other groups or even Narsinghanand himself. “We have raised this matter before the police during a peace meeting at Masuri police station on Oct 8 and expect the authorities,” Qasmi said.
Muslims from the Kishtwar, Doda, and Ramban districts in Jammu and Kashmir also staged separate protest rallies to condemn the defamatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad (SAW) on Oct 6.
Meanwhile, Maulana Faizuddin Arif, General Secretary Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (Loni), was quoted as saying on Oct 8, “Memorandums were given to ACP and DCP, and we also held talks with them. We also told them that if a separate FIR cannot be registered, at least more sections can be added to the case lodged against Narsinghanand.”
“They have given us assurances and we are still waiting. If need be, we will move court. We have asked Muslims to not act rashly, no matter what.”
Meanwhile, Udita Tyagi, General Secretary, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati Foundation was quoted as saying on Oct 8, “After the incident on the night of Oct 4, Narsinghanand went to Bamheta from where he was taken away by police citing security concerns. On Oct 7, we met senior police officials but they denied that he was with them.”
Notably, police have also lodged a case against Alt-news co-founder, Muhammad Zubair for allegedly promoting enmity among religious groups by putting out certain social media posts that allegedly incited “fundamentalists” and led to buildup outside the temple on Oct 4.
