Case filed against Kalicharan Maharaj over ‘hate speech’
The police said that the gathering took place between 8 pm and 9.50 pm on Sunday but a suo motu case was registered by the police on Tuesday after the video of his speech went viral on social media and came to the notice of the police.
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Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj (Screenshot) The Biloli police in Nanded have registered a case against Kalicharan Maharaj for an alleged ‘hate speech’ against the Muslim community at a religious gathering organised at a marketplace on Sunday. The police said that the gathering took place between 8 pm and 9.50 pm on Sunday but a suo motu case was registered by the police on Tuesday after the video of his speech went viral on social media and came to the notice of the police.
According to the police, the case was registered under sections 153 (A) (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.), 295 (A) (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint of one assistant police inspector Ramdas Kendre posted at Biloli police station.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the complainant said, “It can be clearly seen in the video footage that he is delivering a hate speech against the Muslim community. We registered the case on Tuesday.”
The police further added that as soon as the video reached the police, their legal team was consulted after which a decision to register a case was taken.
Deputy SP Vikrant Gaikwad said, “We have registered a case against Kalicharan Maharaj. No one else has been booked in the case.”
According to the police, Maharaj at the gathering allegedly said that “the Muslims who stay in the locality are from Pakistan. They are the ones who burst crackers after Pakistan wins a cricket match against India”.
Maharaj further said that the riots that take place here (in India) is because of the Muslim population, according to the police complaint. “Kalicharan Maharaj has tried to incite people during his speech which may have caused a law and order issue due to which an FIR was registered,” said an officer. Kalicharan Maharaj, aka Abhijit Dhananjay Sarang, is from Akola. A proponent of a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, he was arrested in December 2021 for his speech at a ‘dharam sansad’ in Raipur, where he allegedly hailed Nathuram Godse. Although there are multiple cases of hate speech registered against Maharaj in Maharashtra, he is yet to be arrested in any of them.
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