Hindu priest rape threat to Muslim women: UP police registers case after 6 days

Cops have registered a case six days after a Hindu priest's hate speech outside a mosque in Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh. The preist in the speech allegedly threatened to kidnap and rape Muslim women.

A case under relevant sections has been registered and further steps are being taken on the basis of witnesses' statements, Sitapur police said in a statement on Twitter.

In the video, a man clad in saffron robes, reportedly the local mahant in a small town Khairabad can be seen addressing a gathering from inside a jeep. A man in a police uniform can also be seen in the background.

Speaking on a microphone, the man appears to make communal and provocative remarks as the crowd cheers him with shouts of "Jai Shri Ram".

The priest in the video alleges a plot to murder him and adds that a sum of ₹ 28 lakh has been collected for this.

He then purportedly says that if a Muslim harasses any girl in the area, he would kidnap Muslim women and publicly rape them. The threat is met with loud cheers by the crowd.

Sharing the video, Mohammed Zubair, Alt News co-founder, said the video was shot on April 2 but no action had been taken by the police even after five days.

The National Commission for Women has condemned the remarks and sought the priest's arrest. "The Police should not be a mute spectator in such incidents and appropriate measures must be taken by them to curb people from using such outrageous language for women," a statement from the commission said.