The Uttar Pradesh Police on Friday, 8 April, registered an FIR after a video of a saffron-clad man publicly threatening to kidnap and rape Muslim women went viral on social media.
In the video shot at an event in Sitapur district, the priest can be seen addressing a gathering from his car to cheers and chants of 'Jai Shree Ram' by the crowd.
The man, identified as Bajrang Muni, can be heard saying that he will kidnap and rape Muslim women if any Muslim man harasses the women in the area. He also alleged that Rs 28 lakh had been allocated to murder him by Muslims in the area.
The gathering was reportedly organised on 2 April.
The Sitapur Police said that an FIR had been registered in the matter and further investigation was underway.
The video went viral after it was tweeted by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair.
Bajrang Muni Defends Statement, Later Apologises
In a conversation with media persons, Bajrang Muni defended his statement, refused to apologise, and targetted Zubair instead.
"The video has been tweeted by Mohammed Zubair. If you check his profile, there is not a single post which is not anti-Hindu. If he was a humanitarian or a secular person, he would also have posted about atrocities committed by Muslims against Hindus or the hate speeches by them. But he has posted only those tweets in which Hindus are shown to be aggressive," Bajrang Muni claimed.
He further alleged that a Muslim youth had disguised himself as a Hindu to murder him at his ashram, but was arrested by the police.
Speaking to ANI, he later reiterated his threat and claimed that the video was distorted to implicate him under false charges.
However, on Friday, a video captured Muni apologising to all 'sisters and mothers'. He added that he respected all sisters and mothers.
NCW Demands Action
The National Commission for Women (NCW) took cognisance of the video and wrote to the DGP to take action in the matter.
Taking to Twitter, the commission said: "@NCWIndia has taken serious note of the incident and condemns the statement made by the accused. Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to @dgpup to immediately intervene and to register an FIR against the accused. NCW has also sought arrest of the accused at the earliest."
"NCW has also written seeking appropriate measures from police to curb people from using such outrageous language for women and not be a mute spectator in such incidents. A copy of the letter has also been sent to SP Sitapur," it added.
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