On 4th October, thousands of Islamists took to the streets to protest against Mahant Narsinghanand Saraswati’s remarks on Prophet Muhammad in the village of Sultanpur, Laskar, Haridwar district, Uttarakhand. The protesting Islamists raised slogans such as “Nara-e-Takbir Allah Hu Akbar”, “Fansi Do”, and “Sar Tan Se Juda”. Police were present at the scene but appeared outnumbered in the viral video of the incident.
This was neither the first, nor the last protest organised by Islamists against Narsinghanand for his controversial statement about Prophet Muhammad. On 4th October, a similar incident took place in Bulandshahr, where Islamists protested and indulged in stone pelting over remarks made by Dasna Temple Mahant Narsinghanand Saraswati. The incident occurred in the Sikandrabad area. A large number of Islamists gathered outside Hazrat Ali Mosque to protest against Narsinghanand’s statements about Prophet Muhammad.
During the protest, when the police tried to calm the situation, a section of the crowd started pelting stones at them. Inspector Ravi Ratan of Sikandrabad Kotwali was injured and subsequently rushed to the hospital for treatment. Following the stone-pelting incident, District Magistrate CP Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar rushed to the scene. Additional police forces were called to disperse the mob. The police took eight individuals into custody in connection with the violence. Surveillance across the region was also intensified to ensure peace. The police then initiated a crackdown on those involved in the stone-pelting, taking eight individuals into custody.
Similarly, on 4th October, a group of Muslim youth created chaos and unrest outside the Dasna Devi temple. The Ghaziabad police swung into action and dispersed the mob.
On Thursday (3rd October), the Uttar Pradesh police apprehended 3 Muslim men who entered the Dasna Devi temple near Ghaziabad by pretending to be Hindus. They were identified as Rahul, Nanak and Wazir Khan and hailed from Mathura district. As per reports, the trio used Hindu names and claimed to be a part of Ramlila to gain access to the temple headed by priest Yati Narsinghanand.
While speaking about the matter, ACP Lipi Nagayach informed, “During checks, the police on duty at the temple found that the three men were using Aadhaar cards with Hindu names though they are Muslims. They had arrived there to perform at the Ramlila. After inquiry, the men were arrested and booked for cheating by impersonation and defiling a place of worship. The group performing the Ramlila at the temple did not know that the men were Muslims.” The First Information Report read, “The three men had the intention of insulting the Hindu religion, and that is why they were trying to enter the temple.”
The development comes at a time when Islamists are threatening the Dasna temple priest with ‘Sar Tan se Juda (STSJ)’ threats after being prodded by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair over his speech on Prophet Muhammad.
Remarks by Narsinghanand that led to multiple protests and incidents of violence
The protests stemmed from a statement made by Mahant Narsinghanand at an event where he stated, ”…Even thousands of years since Ravan committed a small mistake, we burn his effigy. But until now, such criminals have taken birth that Ravan’s existence would fail in front of them. I want to exhort all Hindus from this stage if you want to burn an effigy, burn the effigy of Mohammad.”
Yati Narsinghanand’s controversial past and an assassination attempt against him
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Islamists have targeted Narsinghanand for his remarks. In 2022, Narsinghanand was arrested after a woman filed a complaint against him for making derogatory remarks against women. Islamists had then alleged that he had called for the genocide of Muslims during an event called ‘Dharma Sansad’ where he had called upon Hindus to keep sharper weapons in self-defence against the looming threats posed by Islamists.
The near-constant barrage of online attacks by Islamists against Yati Narsinghanand came to a head in 2021 when Delhi Police foiled an assassination bid to kill him. Mohd. Dar, a JeM terrorist was arrested by the police and one .30 bore pistol along with two magazines and 15 live rounds were recovered from him. His belonging also included a Bhagwa kurta, a Kalava, a Mala and a Chandan-tika. The recovery of overtly Hindu symbols highlighted the modus operandi employed by Mumbai 26/11 terrorists who carried Hindu paraphernalia on their suicide mission to pin the blame of the attack on Hindus and in the process, promote the “Hindu terror” bogey, a fabrication that was conjured up by the UPA government to shield Islamic extremism.
