Lucknow:
Six days after a Hindu priest’s hate speech outside a mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, in which he allegedly threatened to kidnap and rape Muslim women, police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.
A case under relevant sections has been registered and further steps are being taken on the basis of witnesses’ statements, Sitapur police said in a statement on Twitter after visuals of the speech sparked outrage and questions on why no action had been taken so far.
The video shows a man clad in saffron robes, reportedly the local mahant in a small town 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.
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.
