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regular-article-logo Friday, 26 April 2024

NCW seeks arrest of UP seer for 'rape' threat

Commission for women asks police to not be mute spectator

Our Bureau, PTI New Delhi Published 08.04.22, 02:38 PM
The video shows a man clad in saffron robes, reportedly the local mahant in a small town of Khairabad -- about 100 km from Lucknow -- addressing a gathering from inside a jeep.

The video shows a man clad in saffron robes, reportedly the local mahant in a small town of Khairabad -- about 100 km from Lucknow -- addressing a gathering from inside a jeep. Twitter

The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday sought the arrest of a seer from Uttar Pradesh, who allegedly issued rape threats to women of a particular community, and reprimanded the police saying it cannot be a mute spectator but take appropriate measures to curb such incidents.

The video shows a man clad in saffron robes, reportedly the local mahant in a small town of Khairabad -- about 100 km from Lucknow -- addressing a gathering from inside a jeep. A man in a police uniform can also be seen in the background.

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Speaking on a microphone, the man appears to make communal and provocative remarks as the crowd cheers him with shouts of "Jai Shri Ram".

The man alleges a plot to murder him and adds that a sum of ₹ 28 lakh has been collected for this.

He then purportedly says that if a Muslim harasses any girl in the area, he would kidnap Muslim women and publicly rape them. The threat is met with loud cheers by the crowd.

Another video which is doing the rounds on social media shows four cops in the frame, three of them in the same vehicle as the priest as he delivers the hate speech, raising questions on why an FIR was registered after 6 days and why no further action has been taken yet.

The NCW, in a statement, said it has taken serious note of the incident and condemned the seer's outrageous language in the strongest possible words.

Its chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the Director-General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, to immediately intervene in the matter and register an FIR against Bajrang Das.

The women's rights panel has also sought his arrest at the earliest.

Sharing the video, Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of fact-check website AltNews, said the video was shot on April 2 but no action had been taken by the police even after five days.

Responding to his tweet, Sitapur police said a senior officer is investigating the matter and that action will be taken on the basis of facts.

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