Pune City Police have arrested Hindu seer Kalicharan Maharaj from Raipur in Chhattisgarh days after he was booked over hate speech against Muslims and Christians during a program.
Commissioner of Pune city police Amitabh Gupta said his team has held Kalicharan Maharaj at Raipur and will be produced before a court in Pune today.
Last week, the Pune Police had filed a first information report against Maharaj, Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote, Captain (retired) Digendra Kumar, and three others for delivering hate speeches against Muslims and Christians at an event in the city.
In Pune, the speeches against religious minorities were made on 19 December on Shiv Pratap Din – an event to commemorate 17th-century Maratha ruler Shivaji’s killing of Afzal Khan, a general of the Bijapur Sultanate. The event was organised by Samasta Hindutva Aghadi.
The other three men who delivered hate speeches are Nandakishor Ekbote, Mohan Shete, and Dipak Nagpure. The charges are 295 (a), 298, 505 (2), and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
Last month, Haridwar in Uttarakhand, Raipur in Chhattisgarh, and Pune in Maharashtra witnessed several anti-Muslim gatherings. During these events, Hindu monks and Hindutva leaders called for the ethnic cleansing of Muslims. Despite outrage and criticisms, no action has been taken against them so far in this matter.
