Ghaziabad: Narsinghanand’s aide arrested and jailed hours after he obtained bail

Yadav and three others were booked under different BNS sections for allegedly making comments to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims

Hours after he surrendered and obtained bail from a Ghaziabad court on Thursday in a case pertaining to allegedly making comments to hurt religious sentiments , Anil Yadav, a close aide of Dasna temple head priest Yati Narsinghanand, was arrested by the Ghaziabad police and sent to jail late Thursday night, said senior police officers.

Anil Yadav, a close aide of Dasna temple head priest Yati Narsinghanand, surrendered before a Ghaziabad court and obtained bailas the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections he was charged under entail a punishment of up to two years. But late Thursday night he was arrested under Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Section 170 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

They said Yadav, who is also known among his followers as “Chota Narsinghanand’ (junior Narsinghanand)”, and three others were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 302 (acts performed with the intent to wound or insult someone’s religious feelings) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) for allegedly making comments to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims, in a video that was widely shared on the night of October 4.

He obtained bail in that case but was then arrested and taken into preventive custody, police said.

Yadav and the three others were booked soon after a group of protesters gathered outside the Dasna Devi temple on the night of October 4 and resorted to sloganeering against the alleged controversial remarks made by Narsinghanand at an event held held on September 29 at the Hindi Bhawan, Lohiya Nagar, Ghaziabad.

“Yadav surrendered before a Ghaziabad court and obtained bailas the sections (mentioned above) entail a punishment of up to two years. But late Thursday night he was arrested under Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Section 170 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences),” said Rajkumar Sharma, the lawyer representing Yadav.

“He was produced before a magistrate and sent to jail on Friday morning. The arrest was made to maintain peace and preventing any untoward incident,” said Surendra Nath Tewari, deputy commissioner of police (rural).

Udita Tyagi, general secretary of Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati Foundation, said they feared for Yadav’s well being in jail. “We suspect that he faces a threat to his life inside jail and his safety and security is to be ensured. If anything untoward happens, the police and administration will be responsible,” Tyagi said.

Ever since the night of October 4, Narsinghanand is also “missing” and his associates claimed that he was taken away by the police, citing security concerns. However, police have maintained that Narsinghanand is not with them.

Close aides of Narsinghanand have called for a Hindu mahapanchayat on October 13 at the temple but police said they have not given permission for the gathering and action will be taken against anyone violating the prohibitory orders that are currently in place in Ghaziabad.