Haridwar: Garhwal deputy inspector general Karan Singh Nagnyal on Sunday said that a five-member special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the Haridwar hate speech case.
He also said that the team will be headed by an SP-level officer.
On Saturday, two more names — Yati Narasimhanand, Sindhu Sagar — were added to the FIR lodged in connection with the recent Dharma Sansad in Haridwar where hate speeches were allegedly delivered against Muslims.
Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code (destruction, damage of a place of worship or an object held sacred) was also added to the FIR apart from section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language).
Haridwar Circle Officer Shekhar Suyal told PTI the names of Ghaziabad’s Dasna temple priest Yati Narasimhanand, who was the event organizer, and seer Sindhu Sagar were added to the FIR.
Extremely provocative speeches inciting violence against Muslims were allegedly made by the participants at the event held at Ved Niketan Dham in Haridwar for three days from December 16 to 19.
However, the official refused to explain why the new section has been added to the FIR saying it was part of the investigation which cannot be shared telephonically.
The addition of two new names in the FIR takes the number of people booked in the case so far to five — the other being Waseem Rizvi alias Jitendra Tyagi, Sadhvi Annapurna, Dharamdas, Yati Narasimhanand, and Sindhu Sagar.
Yati Narasimhanand, the controversial priest of Dasna temple, had been out of the ambit of the probe so far.
With inputs from agencies