Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand walked out of Haridwar jail on Thursday, 17 February, after he was granted bail in two cases – one about derogatory comments against women and the other for organising a 'dharam sansad' where genocidal calls against Muslims were made.
Visuals showed the hatemonger receiving a euphoric welcome from his followers as his SUV left the district prison compound.
The car stopped after crossing the gate, with Narsinghanand stepping out to be immediately garlanded by Hindutva supporters amid chants of "Jai Sri Ram" and "Har Har Mahadev".
A Uttarakhand court on Tuesday, 15 February, had granted bail to the religious leader in the case related to his alleged offensive comments against women.
Narsinghanand, who had organised the Haridwar 'Dharam Sansad' in December 2021 where genocidal calls targeting the Muslim community were made, was also granted bail by a local court on 7 February in relation to the hate speech case.
The ‘Dharam Sansad’ had taken place from 17 to 19 December in the pilgrimage city of Haridwar, where multiple calls to kill minorities and attack their religious spaces were made by a number of Hindutva leaders.
Narsinghanand, a priest of the Dasna Temple in Ghaziabad, is among the 10 who have been named in the FIRs lodged against the Haridwar conclave.
Three FIRs had also been filed against Yati Narsinghanand last year for his remarks against women.
The religious leader, who was arrested on 16 January, was booked under Sections 295 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 509 (intending to insult the modesty of any woman), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of peace) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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