Ram temple chief priest's ‘Mumtaz Khan’ swipe at Mamata after sadhus assaulted in Bengal's Purulia

Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra chief priest condemns assault of sadhus in Purulia, blames Mamata Banerjee.

Published on: Jan 13, 2024, 11:18:32 IST

By HT News Desk

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Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra chief priest, Acharya Satyendra Das, on Saturday, hit out at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee while condemning the assault of sadhus (seers) in the Purulia district. Speaking to news agency ANI, the priest pointed to the past attacks on religious processions in the state and said the chief minister “gets angry when she sees the 'Bhagwa' colour”.

Chief Priest of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, Acharya Satyendra Das (ANI)

“Someone had given the name Mumtaz Khan to Mamata Banerjee. Attacks have happened on processions on Ram Navami and other religious processions,” Das said.

“She (Mamata Banerjee) gets angry when she sees the 'Bhagwa' colour and this is why she makes these attacks happen...These incidents of attacks are highly condemnable,” he added.

A video showing a group of sadhus being thrashed by a mob in the Purulia district went viral, with BJP IT cell Amit Malviya claiming that the attackers were criminals affiliated with the ruling Trinamool Congress.

“In Mamata Banerjee’s regime, a terrorist like Shahjahan Sheikh gets state protection and sadhus are being lynched. It is a crime to be a Hindu in West Bengal,” Malviya said.

Purulia Superintendent of Police (SP) Avijit Banerjee later said that 12 suspects have been arrested in the incident which occurred near Gourangdih.

According to Banerjee, the sadhus were travelling in a vehicle when they stopped near three girls heading to a local Kali mandir for pooja and “asked them something”.

Elaborating on the incident, he said, “Due to some language issues, some misunderstandings happened and the girls thought that the Sadhus were following them.”

The situation escalated when local residents, under the assumption that the sadhus were threatening the girls, intervened and took the sadhus near Durga Mandir, he added.

The mob vandalised their vehicle and physically assaulted the sadhus, according to police.

"A case has been initiated on the complaint by a Sadhu. 12 people have been arrested so far, and an investigation is underway," assured SP Banerjee.

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HT News Desk
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