- A case was filed against 113 people, including Rasra municipal chairman for attack on head of Shri Nath Baba
- Five accused, including local journalist, were arrested in connection with the attack
- Police have assigned senior officers to investigate defamatory acts against the math and leaders
A case has been registered against 113 people, including BSP's Rasra Municipal Council (Nagar Palika Parishad) chairman Vinay Shankar Jaiswal, for allegedly attacking Mahamandaleshwar Kaushlendra Giri, head of the Shri Nath Baba Math in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia, police said on Tuesday.
Five accused, including a local journalist, have been arrested in the matter.
According to the police, a video from the Rasra town surfaced on social media on Monday, purportedly showing a scuffle between Mahant Kaushlendra Giri and his supporters and municipal chairman Jaiswal along with his associates.
Rasra SHO Vipin Singh said that acting on a complaint filed by Mahant Giri, the police registered an FIR late Monday night against 13 named individuals, including Jaiswal, local journalist Shiva Ji Bagle, and 100 unidentified persons under various sections of the BNS.
In his complaint, Mahant Giri said that while he was preparing for the upcoming Shravan month rituals at the math, a group of people entered the premises raising slogans. When he objected, Jaiswal allegedly incited the crowd to kill him, following which he was physically attacked and injured, the FIR claims.
On the other hand, Jaiswal told reporters that he had gone to inspect a proposed beautification project at the Ramleela Maidan on the basis of a request received from a local committee.
He alleged that Mahant Giri used abusive language and assaulted him. Jaiswal claimed he now fears for his life and safety.
Superintendent of Police Omvir Singh said that the matter stemmed from a dispute involving the traditional Ramleela committee and the math premises. He said the municipal chairman and some others allegedly tried to provoke a confrontation at the site and misbehaved with Mahant Giri.
Taking cognisance of the incident, the additional superintendent of police (north) has been tasked with investigating the alleged defamatory campaign and anti-social activities carried out against the math and its leadership, both in the recent past and currently.
The SP warned of strict action against all those found involved.
Those arrested on Tuesday include journalist Shiva Ji Bagle, Sanjay Jaiswal, Sanjeet Jaiswal, Naushad, and Raj Ali, said Kotwali in-charge Singh. adding that efforts were on to arrest the remaining accused.
BJP district media in-charge Pankaj Singh said that Shri Nath Baba Math is associated with the Nath sect to which Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath belongs.
He added that Chief Minister Adityanath has visited the math on multiple occasions.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
