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Ludhiana: BJP councillor among 15 booked for ‘hurting religious sentiments’
Case stems from June 9 protest where the temple head was accused of accepting a gold bracelet and demanding ₹3cr; trust denies charges
Police have registered an FIR against BJP councillor Gauravjeet Singh Gora, Jatinder Goryan, husband of Ward No. 17 councillor Rubi Goryan, 14 other identified persons and 150 unidentified persons over a protest outside the commissioner of police’s office earlier this month, during which protesters accused Maa Baglamukhi Dham head Parveen Chaudhary of allegedly accepting a 12-tola gold bracelet from a man and demanding ₹3 crore from three members of the Malhotra family. The trust has denied the allegations, following which police registered the case after an inquiry.
The FIR was registered following an inquiry conducted by assistant commissioner of police (ACP) detective-1, who examined video footage of the June 9 protest, recorded statements of both parties and scrutinised material submitted by the complainant before recommending registration of the case, police said.
The case was registered on the complaint of Tarun Chaudhary, authorised signatory of the Maa Baglamukhi Dham trust on Pakhowal Road. Besides Gora and Goryan, those named in the FIR are Asha Bhola, Loveen Tangri, Satish Malhotra, Sham Sunder Malhotra, Raveena Malhotra, Janak Rani Malhotra, Sachin Malhotra, Sakshi Bahubal, Pankaj Kapoor, Saurabh Kapoor, alias Sobhi, Mehak Malhotra, Meenakshi Malhotra and Shiva Malhotra.
According to the complaint, the accused assembled outside the commissioner of police’s officer on Ferozepur Road, blocked the road, raised slogans and allegedly made defamatory allegations against Mahant Parveen Chaudhary, head of the religious trust.
The complainant alleged that the protesters falsely accused the Mahant of accepting a 12-tola gold kara from Prateek Tandon and demanding ₹3 crore from Sahil Malhotra, Praduman Malhotra and Meenakshi Malhotra. The trust denied the allegations and claimed they were intended to malign the institution and its religious head.
The trust further alleged that videos of the protest circulated widely on social media and were aired by local news channels, damaging its reputation and hurting the religious sentiments of its followers.
Sub-inspector Mewa Singh, the investigating officer, said the FIR has been registered Sections 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class of citizens), 248 (a) (making a false charge of a crime with the intent to injure someone), 352 (intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of the peace), 351 (2) (criminal Intimidation) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the accused. “Further investigation is underway,” he added.
Jatinder Goryan, one of the accused, said the Trust members had an issue with the Malhotra’s. “The Malhotra family had come to us for help as the police were ignoring their pleas. We went to the office of commissioner of police to stage a protest but they have lodged an FIR against us. We have approached senior police officials for an inquiry.”
