21-year-old barber arrested for cutting Shikha of a VHP leader

An FIR was filed against the barber and an investigation has begun into the case.

Uttarakhand police on Tuesday arrested 21-year-old barber Iftkhar for allegedly cutting shikha--a tuft of hair on top of head of Hindus which has religious significance-- of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader, said police.

The barber said he had cut the hair inadvertently while the VHP leader said the barber had been warned about the importance of Shikha. (Representative photo)

The accused was arrested and sent to jail on Tuesday. He has been booked under IPC section 295A for a deliberate or malicious act intended to outrage religious feeling of any class by insulting its religion, said police.

Bhagwan Singh Mahar, station officer of Mukhani police station in Nainital district said one 56-year-old Vishhambar Datt Paladiya from Jaipur Padli village in Haldwani had filed a complaint on Monday, alleging that a barber cut his and his brother’s shikha (tuft of hair) while cutting their hair.

“We filed an FIR under section IPC 295A on Monday evening and hand over the investigation to one of our sub inspectors.”

“In our probe, we found that one 21-year-old Iftkhar, a resident of Ajeetpur from Rampur was working as an employee at the barber shop. We arrested him on Tuesday and produced him in the local court from there he was sent to jail,” said Tribhuvan Singh Adhikari, the investigating officer in the case

Adhikari said when they questioned the barber about the allegation of cutting shikha, he said it happened by mistake.

Vishhambar Datt Paladiya has alleged in the complaint that he and his elder brother went to the barber shop to get a haircut but the barber deliberately cut their Shikha.

Paladiya, a former district president of VHP, said, “My elder brother and I had gone to take a haircut at a barber shop at Lamachaur market. We cautioned him about our Shikha, but even then the barber cut it. This hurt our religious sentiments.”

Following the incident, Paladiya and his supporters created ruckus in front of the barber shop. When police came to know, it reached the spot and pacified them.