Delhi: Student bodies hold protest against Haridwar hate event

New Delhi: Members of several student organisations including the All India Students Association (AISA), the Students Federation of India (SFI), The Fraternity Movement and other organisations held a protest today outside Uttarakhand Bhavan in New Delhi against Haridwar Hate Assembly where calls were made for genocide against Muslims.

The protesters demanded the arrest of Yati Narasinghanand and other Hindutva leaders who called for genocide of Muslims. They also demanded the resignation of Uttrakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dammi.

Extremely provocative speeches inciting violence against Muslims were made by participants at the event held at Ved Niketan Dham in Haridwar for three days from December 16 to 19. It was organised by Yati Narasinghanand, the priest of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad, who is known for his hate-spewing remarks against Muslims.

The police had lodged an FIR on Thursday last week and initially named only Waseem Rizvi aka Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi. However, the names of Swami Dharamdas and Sadhvi Annapurna were added on Saturday in the FIR lodged after available footage of the event was scanned, Haridwar Kotwali SHO Rakinder Singh said on Monday.

The FIR has been lodged under Section 153A of the IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language).

Members of All India Students Association (AISA), Students Federation of India (SFI) and other organisations protest against Haridwar Hate Assembly where calls were made for genocide against Muslims, outside Uttarakhand Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday, December 27, 2021. (PTI Photo)