Twenty-one policemen were injured after a mob hurled stones at them in Maharashtra's Amravati city to demand registration of a case for a Hindu seer's "objectionable" remarks against Prophet Mohammad.
The police registered a case against Yati Narsinghanand Maharaj from Ghaziabad, for his remarks against the prophet, according to Maharashtra Police.
The police said that at least 10 police vehicles were damaged in the stone-pelting incident that took place on Friday night outside the Nagpuri Gate police station in Amravati city.
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Meanwhile, Yati Narsinghanand was detained earlier today for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Prophet Mohammed, his aides said. A large crowd had gathered outside the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad, where he presides, protesting against the controversial seer on Friday night after videos of his inflammatory remarks appeared online.
Narsinghanand has several cases against him, including for allegedly making a hate speech at a conclave in Haridwar in December 2021, and was out on bail.
Case Against 1,200 People In Amravati
In Amravati, a case has been registered against 1,200 persons in connection to the case and the police have identified 26 of them.
"A huge mob, including members of some organisations, came to the Nagpuri Gate police station around 8.15 pm to press for their demand of registration of a case against Yati Narsinghanand Maharaj of Ghaziabad," Amravati Police Commissioner Navin Chandra Reddy told reporters.
A police official told the mob that one FIR has already been registered in connection with their demand and inquiry is ongoing, after which the mob went back.
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"But as some people circulated the video of the Hindu seer's remarks, a large group of persons returned to the Nagpurigate police station. But when the police officers were trying to persuade the crowd, the mob suddenly started throwing stones at the police personnel," Reddy said.
The police have issued a prohibitory order under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) barred the assembly of five or more people in Nagpuri Gate area, he said. Another senior police official said that 21 cops were injured and 10 police vans were damaged in the stone-pelting incident.
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Demands Arrest
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind demanded the arrest of Yati Narsinghanand, head priest of Dasna Devi temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, and said that filing an FIR against him is “not enough”.
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani, in a statement, alleged that Narsinghanand has made “intolerable blasphemous” remarks against the Prophet Muhammad.
"The statements Narsinghanand made in the video are unspeakable and unbearable, deeply hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims around the world, Madani claimed. In a statement, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind chief declared it as a threat to national integrity and called for immediate legal action.