On 2nd February (Friday), Varanasi’s Lanka Police lodged an FIR against a Rashritya Hindu Dal president Roshan Pandey for pasting posters and circulating videos on social media to allegedly outrage religious feelings. Notably, Pandey, a resident of Gangotri Vihar colony in the Samne Ghat area, affixed a sticker with ‘Mandir’ written on it over the signboards displaying Gyanvapi “Masjid” to make the final signboard read, ‘Gyanvapi Mandir’ both in English and Hindi. He did it soon after the Varanasi District Court allowed Hindus to perform puja inside Vyas Cellar in the Gyanvapi mosque structure.
As per a Times of India report, Pandey hails from the Gaya district of Bihar, and is the state secretary of the Hindu Samaj Party (HSP). He was booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc), 505(2) (dissemination of a rumour or unsettling news about a religion, race, language, or community), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, that are intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of IPC and 67 IT Act.
In a video released before the case was filed, Roshan Pandey said that after the Varanasi district court allowed Hindu puja in the Gyanvapi basement, now it is a temple, and therefore he covered the Masjid in the signboard with a sticker saying Mandir. He said that after the court order, what he did is legally right. He noted that CM Yogi Adityanath has said that calling Gyanvapi a mosque is wrong, and the recently published ASI report also says that the mosque was constructed after demolishing a temple.
Pandey added that the signboard was creating confusion among devotees visiting Kashi, and therefore he changed the signboard to remove this confusion. Notable, Roshan Pandey has been appealing to the administration to change the board, and had written to the CM and tourism department in the state. He said that after his applications were not accepted, he and his organisation Rashritya Hindu Dal decided to do it themselves.
ज्ञानवापी "मंदिर" का स्टिकर
— Deepak Sharma (@SonOfBharat7) February 1, 2024
लगाने वाले मेरे छोटे भाई @roshanpandey_ को प्रताड़ित किया जा
रहा वाराणसी पुलिस द्वारा.. आखिर क्यूँ ?
अगर मामला विवादास्पद है तो या तो उस बोर्ड को हटाइये याफिर ASI द्वारा प्रमाणित तथ्यों के आधार पर मंदिर का बोर्ड लगाना उचित ठहराइये ||
भाई… pic.twitter.com/DA77IDllzH
He further said that the Varanasi District Administration was threatening to take action against him for the act. He appealed to CM Yogi Adityanath to take cognisance of the matter to ensure that he is not harassed by the police.
In the meanwhile, it is being further alleged on social media that Roshan Pandey has also been booked under various sections of SC/ST Act.
ज्ञानवापी को मंदिर बोलने वाले
— Deepak Sharma (@SonOfBharat7) February 4, 2024
रोशन पांडे को गैंगस्टर बनाने पे तुली बनारस पुलिस
बनारस के लंका थाने के SHO शिवाकांत
मिश्रा व अन्य बड़े अधिकारीयों की मिलीभगत..
पूज्यनीय मुख्यमंत्री श्री @myogiadityanath जी की मेहनत और
विश्वास को दीमक की तरह कहते अधिकारी ✍️
UP वालों को अपनी… pic.twitter.com/EmMx60dXtd
Meanwhile, the Varanasi police have launched a manhunt to apprehend Roshan Pandey who is reportedly absconding.
Lanka inspector Shivakant Mishra said that the FIR was lodged based on the complaint of Nagwa outpost in charge Ajay Yadav. He alleged that Pandey made the posters on letter pads of the Hindu Samaj Party and Hindu Seva using words that spread religious fanaticism, affecting peace and tranquillity in the region.
As per reports, Pandey’s criminal records include cases under sections 295A and 505 of the IPC at Cantt police station, and sections 153A, 295A, 505 of the IPC, and 67 IT Act at Bhelupur police station.
The incident and the disputed claim about the structure being a “Masjid”
On 1st February, Roshan Pandey affixed two stickers with ‘Mandir’ written on it in Hindi and English over a signboards displaying “Gyanvapi Masjid”. By covering the ‘Masjid’ text with the Mandir sticker, the final text on the signboard read ‘Gyanvapi Mandir’ in both the languages.
ज्ञानवापी के साइन बोर्ड से हिंदू दल ने हटाया 'मस्जिद' शब्द, चस्पा किया 'मंदिर' का पोस्टर
— Humara Bihar (@HumaraBihar) February 1, 2024
वाराणसी की जिला अदालत ने ज्ञानवापी मामले में बुधवार को बड़ा फैसला सुनाया है।
सर्वे रिपोर्ट के बाद अदालत ने हिंदू पक्ष को ज्ञानवापी परिसर में स्थित व्यासजी के तहखाना में पूजा-पाठ करने की… pic.twitter.com/C4esTQTGto
The incident took place after the Varanasi district court had allowed Hindu devotees to worship in the basement of the Gyanvapi structure dubbed as Masjid by the Muslim petitioners and sections of the media. However, legal proceedings are ongoing to ascertain whether the ‘disputed’ structure has Hindu character and/or was built on a pre-existing Hindu Mandir. Furthermore, the Allahabad High Court also declined an interim stay on the Varanasi court order allowing Puja inside ‘Vyas Tehkhana’ in the Gyanvapi complex.
It is important to note that recently the ASI’s survey report was recently made available to both the petitioning sides and the media. OpIndia had extensively covered the 850 pages+ ASI Survey report on the Gyanvapi structure in which the premier scientific agency on such issues categorically stated that a large Hindu temple existed at the place where the present structure is located. The ASI in its survey found Shivling, miniature temple, idols of Hindu gods, and more buried in Gyanvapi cellars which were ‘deliberately blocked’ with debris.
