Raipur, Oct 29 (PTI) A case has been registered against the chief of Johar Chhattisgarh Party, Amit Baghel, for allegedly making derogatory remarks against revered figures of the Agrawal and Sindhi communities, police said on Wednesday.
Baghel was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) on Tuesday based on a complaint by Vijay Kumar Agrawal, president of the Agrawal Mahasabha Raipur.
As per the complaint lodged at the City Kotwali police station, during a media interaction after a statue of ‘Chhattisgarh Mahtari’ was vandalised in capital Raipur, Baghel on October 26 allegedly made offensive remarks against Maharaja Agrasen and Jhulelal, revered figures of Agrawal and Sindhi communities, respectively, he said.
The complainant said Baghel’s remarks deeply hurt the religious and social sentiments of the two communities.
The complaint also said that the Centre has issued a postage stamp in honour of Maharaja Agrasen, and the Chhattisgarh government confers the Maharaja Agrasen Award during the statehood celebrations.
The Agarwal Sabha alleged that Baghel’s statements were deliberate, aimed at creating social disharmony and disturbing peace in the state.
Further probe into the matter is underway, the official said.
Tension had erupted in Raipur on Sunday after the statue of Chhattisgarh Mahtari installed near the Ram Temple at VIP Chowk under Telibandha police station limits was found vandalised.
Statues of Chhattisgarh Mahtari, a revered mother figure traditionally depicted wearing a green-coloured saree holding a bunch of paddy and a sickle in one hand and giving blessings with the other, were installed across the state during the previous Congress government.
Members of the Chhattisgarhiya Kranti Sena and its political wing — Johar Chhattisgarh Party — gathered at the site and staged a protest.
During the protest, Amit Baghel, also a member of Chhattisgarhiya Kranti Sena, had allegedly asked why statues of Maharaja Agrasen, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, both profoundly respected by the BJP, were not vandalised and disrespected in the state.
He also allegedly used objectionable remarks against Maharaja Agrasen and Jhulelal. Later, police arrested a person, said to be mentally unstable, for allegedly vandalising the statue.
Reacting to the FIR against him, Baghel told PTI that he is unafraid of “arrest or worse”, and would continue to “fight to defend the honour of his land and people”.
“I don’t care if they hang me or send me to jail. I will keep fighting for the respect of my soil and my people. We believe in the Constitution and democracy,” he said.
He also accused the ruling BJP and Congress of honouring those who “disrespect legendary figures of Chhattisgarh”.
Johar Chhattisgarh Party has called for a Raipur Bandh on October 31 to protest the statue vandalisation. PTI TKP NR
Category: Breaking News
SEO Tags: #swadesi, #News, Johar Chhattisgarh Party chief booked over objectionable remarks against community icons
