Police personnel assigned to protect Raju Das, the chief priest of the Hanumangarhi temple, were removed after he clashed with district officials during a meeting organized by two Uttar Pradesh ministers.
Ayodhya District Magistrate Nitish Kumar stated that the security detail was withdrawn on Friday after complaints emerged that Das was using it to intimidate local traders.
The meeting in question took place on Thursday evening, led by Uttar Pradesh ministers Jai Veer Singh and Surya Pratap Shahi, to evaluate the BJP’s performance in the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency, which the party had lost.
Both Das and Ayodhya Mayor Girish Pati Tripathi were present. District officials, including the magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police Raj Karan Nayyar, were later called to provide insights on development initiatives, according to a BJP source.
Party insiders reported that the altercation began when Das blamed the officials for the BJP's defeat in the Faizabad constituency, which includes five assembly segments, one of which is Ayodhya.
Das had a security detail consisting of three armed police officers, which was revoked immediately on Friday, as confirmed by officials.
Commenting on the revocation of his security, Das told PTI, “The decision was made because I accused the district administration officials of being thieves and corrupt, which they indeed are. This led to the withdrawal of my security.”
District Magistrate Kumar elaborated, “Raju Das has several criminal cases against him, and we received reports that he was using his security detail to threaten the public and local traders. Such misuse necessitated the removal of his security.”
Following the BJP's defeat in Faizabad to Samajwadi Party's Awdhesh Prasad, Das made inflammatory remarks, accusing the residents of Ayodhya of betraying Lord Ram and labeling all administrative and police officials, including district magistrates and police chiefs, as corrupt and bribery-driven.
Das also had a meeting with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Saturday.
When questioned about the discussion with the chief minister, Das mentioned, “We talked about various issues concerning Ayodhya. I reiterated my stance that government officials in Ayodhya are corrupt and do not perform their duties without taking bribes.”
Das asserted that the issue of his security detail was not part of the conversation with the chief minister.
