A day after he was arrested for alleged hate speeches at a Haridwar event last month, seer Yati Narsinghanand was on Sunday booked for allegedly assaulting a group of journalists on Saturday, Uttarakhand Police said on Sunday.
“The seer was booked on the basis of a complaint by a Delhi-based journalist, Vineet Khare, who alleged that he and two of his colleagues were assaulted by the seer and his followers during an interview. The journalist also alleged that he and his colleagues were threatened with dire consequences,” inspector Rakendra Kathait, station house officer of Haridwar Kotwali police station, said.
“Following this, Narsinghanand was booked on charges of wrongful restraint, assaulting, criminal intimidation and intentional insults under sections 341,352, 506 and 504 of Indian Penal Code, respectively,” he added.
The inspector also said that prior to Khare’s complaint, Narsinghanand had approached police, saying the journalist had “hurt his sentiments by calling him a ‘so-called see’ during the interview”.
“However, we are yet to register a case and are verifying his claims,” Kathait said.
{{/usCountry}}“However, we are yet to register a case and are verifying his claims,” Kathait said.
{{/usCountry}}The seer, meanwhile, was sent to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the hate speeches he made at a three-day-long Dharm Sansad in Haridwar on December 17-19.
Narsinghanand is the sect chief of the influential Juna Akhada, and one of the five accused named in the FIR.
Besides him, Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, former Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chairman who until last month went by the name Waseem Rizvi, has been arrested in connection with the case.
On January 13, the Supreme Court had sought the state government’s response, within 10 days, on a public interest litigation demanding stringent action taken against those who were involved in the event.