Narsinghanand’s Haridwar speech: Police scanning video footage of Dec 20 event

According to a video purportedly of the December 20 event at Juna Akhara, Narsinghanand, the chief priest of Dasna temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, allegedly made an inflammatory speech. Haridwar SSP Pramendra Dobhal said they have accessed the 15-minute video and are checking if any objectionable comments were made. “The video going viral on social media is a minute long, but we are checking the entire footage to see if he has said anything objectionable. If hate speech is found, we will take appropriate action,” he added. Uttar Pradesh IG, Law and Order, Nilesh Anand Bharne, said, “If he has said something anti-constitutional, we will take action.”

On December 20, the Uttarakhand HC asked the district police to ensure law and order and compliance with the Supreme Court guidelines. Earlier, while refusing to hear a petition against the ‘Dharam Sansad’, the SC had asked the police to keep track of the events and ensure that there were video recordings. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Congress vice-president, Mathura Dutt Joshi, said the BJP government is violating the directives of HC and the SC by not ensuring law and order.