Uttarakhand Police deny permission to organise Dharma Sansad in Roorkee, files FIR against organisers

After the controversial Dharam Sansad in Haridwar last December, the Uttarakhand police has denied permission to organise a gathering at Roorkee to a right-wing group, and filed an FIR against the organisers.

Prohibitory orders under CRPC section 144 have also been enforced in Dada Jalalpur village near Uttarakhand's Roorkee where a 'Hindu Mahapanchayat' was scheduled to be held on Wednesday and 33 people associated with the event have been detained, officials said.

The village was witness to communal tension recently when a Hanuman Jayanti procession was pelted with stones there on April 16.

The move to impose section 144 came with the Supreme Court directing the Uttarakhand chief secretary on Tuesday to place on record that no untoward statement will be made at the 'Dharam Sansad' in Roorkee and warning that it will hold top officials responsible in case of any hate speech being made.

According to NDTV, the state police has banned large gatherings and flooded “the area with police personnel”, after the apex court instructed it to “ensure that no further hate speeches are given”.

NDTV quoted a senior police officer, Yogesh Rawat, as saying, “Around 200 constables and head constables have been deputed in the area. More than 100 Inspectors and Sub Inspectors are also there. Besides, we have deputed five companies of PAC. The Supreme Court is looking into the whole thing so we cannot afford to lenient... everything will be done by the book.”

The Supreme Court has asked the Haridwar police to file a status report in the Dharam Sansad hate speech case, where Yati Narsinghanand “gave open calls for genocide of Muslims”. A petition in the Supreme Court had highlighted the inaction of Haridwar police, following which the court intervened and one arrest was made “nearly a month after the event,” reported NDTV.