Karnataka seer demands boycott of Muslim vendors
A video of Rishikumar Swami, a seer of Arsikere-based Kalika Mutt, administering an oath to the family of Harsha Jingade alias Harsha Hindu, the Bajrang Dal worker murdered in Shivamogga in February, asking them to boycott Muslim businesses has surfaced on social media. HT could not independently verify the video
Days after Karnataka police filed an FIR against an ABVP leader for a communal speech, a seer has called for the boycott of Muslim vendors.
A video of Rishikumar Swami, a seer of Arsikere-based Kalika Mutt, administering an oath to the family of Harsha Jingade alias Harsha Hindu, the Bajrang Dal worker murdered in Shivamogga in February, asking them to boycott Muslim businesses has surfaced on social media. HT could not independently verify the video.
In the video, allegedly shot during a memorial service for Harsha, the seer could be seen delivering an oath, in which derogatory terms are used to describe the Muslim community and demand their boycotting. Despite being prompted by those around her, Harsha’s sister Ashwini could be seen refusing to take part in the oath.
The seer had made a controversial statement after Harsha’s death. “You have chopped our boy (Harsha) into pieces...For one head of ours, unless we take 10 heads, Hindu Samaja will not rest,” Rishikumar Swami had said.
No case has been registered against the seer, a senior police official has confirmed.
In January, Rishikumar Swamy was arrested for demanding the demolition of a mosque at Srirangapatna in Mandya on the lines of Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid. The seer had uploaded a video on his Facebook account claiming that the historic mosque was a Hanuman temple and should be demolished like the Babri Masjid. A case was registered against the seer in the matter, police said. The seer was arrested from Chikkamagaluru district, based on a complaint by Yathiraj, a security guard of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). According to police, the seer had made the video when he visited Srirangapatna to attend the last rites of a child artist, who had died in a road accident on Saturday. He was later released on bail.
