Dehradun, April 24: The Uttarakhand police filed a first information report (FIR) against a Hindu right-wing leader who, in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, gave Kashmiri students a 10-am deadline to leave the state and pledged that the state police would protect Kashmiri students there.
FIR was registered against Hindu Raksha Dal leader Lalit Sharma for attempting to incite religious sentiments through inflammatory speeches, Dehradun senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ajai Singh was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
The FIR was under sections 196 (1) (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 352 (criminal intimidation), 353 (2) (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Patel Nagar police station.
In a video statement, Sharma allegedly threatened to ‘deal’ with any Kashmiri Muslim in Dehradun who did not heed his warning to leave the state. “From 10 am, Hindu Raksha Dal teams will step out from their homes, and if we find any Kashmiri anywhere, we will teach them a lesson,” he said in the statement that had been circulating since yesterday.
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Singh said the police had got 25 objectionable posts removed from social media, adding that its social media monitoring cell was closely monitoring objectionable content. “Strict action will be taken if anybody uploads such posts on social media,” he said.
Uttarakhand additional director general of police (ADG), intelligence, AP Anshuman, said, “We have sounded alert and increased security measures. We will ensure the safety of all Kashmiri students in Uttarakhand.”
Anshuman’s assurance came after Kashmiri Muslim students in several parts of the state and beyond expressed apprehension for their life after provocative videos and posts were circulated on social media.
But many Kashmiri students had already left the state before the authorities got their act together.
