Panaji: Right-wing speaker Gautam Khattar was arrested on Friday, April 24, in Himachal Pradesh, for his offensive and derogatory remarks on St Francis Xavier.
The police, in a statement, said that Himachal Pradesh Police detained the accused in Kullu district following a look out circular (LOC) issued against him.
“A team of Crime Branch will soon take over the custody of the accused and he will be brought to Goa,” the authorities said.
His brother, Madhav Khattar, was arrested earlier in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar and named a co-accused after it was found that he had prepared the speech delivered by his brother at the event held on Saturday, April 18.
Called Goa’s patron saint a terrorist
Gautam Khattar, the founder of Sanatan Mahasangh, kicked up a row with his remarks at an event in the presence of Swami Brahmeshanand, State Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs Sankulp Amonkar and Daji (Krishna) Salkar.
He called the 16th-century Catholic missionary a “terrorist and a cruel ruler.”
“Uske shareer ko keede lag gaye. Na aatma bachi, na shareer bacha. Uski haddiyon ko keedon ne khakar chooda-chooda ho gaya (His body was eaten by worms. Neither the soul remained nor the body survived. Even his bones were chewed up and reduced to pieces by worms.),” Khattar said.
He alleged that St Xavier’s only aim was to convert Hindus into Christianity. “Uske baad bhi uska kaunsa festival hotha hai. Aur laakhon sanatani waha haath jodthe hai (Yet, a festival is still held in his name, and lakhs of Sanatanis go there and fold their hands in prayer),” he added.
A viral video of his remarks against Goa’s patron saint sparked protests in various parts of the coastal state, drawing widespread condemnation from political leaders, the Goa Church, and others.
The Vasco police have since registered a first information report (FIR) against Khattar for allegedly hurting religious sentiments and trying to create communal discord through his speech against St Francis Xavier, whose relics are preserved at the Basilica of Bom Jesus Church, Old Goa.
