A five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe into the hate speeches at the 'Dharam Sansad' event in Haridwar, where calls were made for violence against the Muslim community. Deputy Inspector of General Garhwal Karan Singh Nagnyal told ANI that legal action would be taken against those found guilty.
The Uttarakhand Police, on 1 January, had arrested two more persons in the case.
Speaking to ANI, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar said that on the basis of a viral video clip of the event, the names of Sagar Sindhu Maharaj and Yati Narsinghanand Giri have been added to the FIR in the hate speech case.
The two seers have been booked under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), reported ANI, quoting DGP Ashok Kumar.
With this, a total of five people have been booked for making incendiary speeches at the 'Dharam Sansad' event, held in Haridwar between 17-19 December.
The FIR, which was filed on 23 December, initially named only one individual, former Shia Waqf Board chief Jitendra Narayan Tyagi.
The event, organised by the controversial Hindutva leader Narsinghanand, saw multiple calls to incite violence against minorities.
Since the Haridwar event, a spate of similar incidents of hate speech also took place across the country.
In a viral video of a similar event in Delhi on 19 December, right-wing Hindu groups could be seen taking the following oath:
“We take an oath and make a resolution that till our last breath, we will fight, die for and if need be, kill, to make this country a Hindu rashtra and keep this country a Hindu rashtra.”
On 30 December, Chhattisgarh police also booked religious leader Kalicharan for allegedly using derogatory language against Mahatma Gandhi at an event in Madhya Pradesh's Khajuraho.
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