Police on Monday booked prominent Goan writer and Sahitya Akademi awardee Datta Damodar Naik on charges of hurting religious sentiments after receiving complaints that he labelled temple priests “looters" in a recent interview. Naik (70), who is also a businessman, said he is a “staunch atheist” and is not scared by the development. According to police, one complaint was filed at Canacona police station by Satish Bhat, who alleged that in an interview to a regional news channel, Naik made derogatory remarks about Shree Samsthan Gokarn Partagali Jeevottam Math, which is in Partagali, South Goa. “In an interview, Naik referred to temple priests as dacoits and looters. In our culture, we respect everyone’s opinion, whether someone is an atheist or not. But through these remarks, he has deliberately hurt religious sentiments and insulted our culture,” Bhat told The Indian Express. Another complaint was lodged at Panaji police station on Saturday by Jayesh Thali from Gomantak Mandir Mahasangh and Religious Institutions Federation. The complaint alleged that Naik committed a grave offence by labelling the “Bhat-Purohit” (priests) as “looters”. “While belief in God is a personal matter, making such public statements branding priests, temples and monasteries as looters is an offence under the law as it hurts religious sentiments and has led to social unrest,” the complaint read. Police said an FIR has been lodged under BNS section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts that are intended to insult or outrage the religious feelings of any class of citizens) and an investigation has been initiated. Naik told The Indian Express, “I am a staunch atheist and I have been in public life for several years. At a recent event…I said that temple priests looted money from people… Later, I clarified that I meant to say they ‘extracted’ money… It is true, temples are extracting money. I questioned what was built with this money? Have they built any schools, hospitals? Where is all this money going?” He said he was aware that a police complaint had been lodged against him. “I do not know whether it has been converted to an FIR. Anyway, I am not scared. What will they do? Arrest me? I have the freedom to express my opinion and I am not afraid. What about my sentiments as an atheist? The space for rational thinking and dialogue is shrinking,” he said. Naik has written in Konkani, Marathi and English. He won the Sahitya Akademi award in Konkani in 2006 for his collection of essays, Jai Kai Jui. In the early 1990s, he founded Samata Andolan, a group for rationalists from across Goa.
