Police yet to summon accused in Haridwar hate speech case

“Police haven’t yet send notices to the three named accused so far in the case to record their statements,” said inspector Rakendra Kataith, station house officer of Haridwar Kotwali police station, where a case was registered on December 23.

Haridwar police is yet to summon the three people named in a complaint on hate speech during a religious gathering as it is “gathering more evidence by verifying the videos of the event.”

Members of All India Students' Association (AISA), Students' Federation of India (SFI) and other organisations protest against the hate speech during a recent religious gathering in Haridwar, on Monday. (PTI)

“Police haven’t yet send notices to the three named accused so far in the case to record their statements,” said inspector Rakendra Kataith, station house officer of Haridwar Kotwali police station, where a case was registered on December 23. “The probe in the case is ongoing, with the police gathering more evidence against the accused by verifying the videos of the speeches made by them during the event.”

Police had registered a case under section 153 (a) of the India Penal Code (promoting disharmony, enmity or feelings of hatred) against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi (formerly Waseem Rizwi) and other unidentified persons at Haridwar Kotwali police station after videos of the three-day Dharma Sansad held from December 17-19 caused a furore on social media, as participating religious leaders called for violence against minorities.

One of the participants even said he “wished he could become Nathuram Godse with a revolver and pump all six bullets in former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s chest.”

Later on December 25, police added names of two more accused – Annapurna Maa and general secretary of Hindu Mahasabha Dharamdas Maharaj, both hailing from Haridwar. The case is being investigated by a sub-inspector at Kotwali police station.

“Such events and hate speeches won’t be tolerated,” Uttarakhand’s director general of police Ashok Kumar had said on December 24, assuring legal action against the accused.

“Police had already registered a case on the basis of a complaint lodged by one Gulbahar Khan, in which only Tyagi was named, while others were unidentified,” Kumar had said. “However, police will be adding more names to the case as the probe unfolds.”