Mitali Palnitkar
Published On: December 31, 2021 at 10:02 IST
A Hindu religious leader, Kalicharan Maharaj was charged with Sedition and Arrested by the Chhattisgarh Police for insulting Mahatma Gandhi and praising his assassin, Nathuram Godse.
Kalicharan Maharaj delivered a controversial speech at a religious meeting held in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. After his speech, the Chief Patron, Mahant Ramsunder Das disowned the event and walked off the stage. Kalicharan was also charged with promoting enmity between communities.
In his speech, he stated, “Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi destroyed the country…salutations to Nathuram Godse, who killed him.” He also stated that the aim of Islam was to capture the nation through politics. He demanded that a staunch Hindu leader shall be elected by the people to protect Hinduism.
After the speech of Kalicharan went viral on social media, a Police Case was filed by Congress leader Pramod Dubey who had attended the religious event. It was confirmed by the Senior Police Officer of Raipur that Kalicharan had been Arrested. During the investigation, Sections 153 A (1) (A), 153 B (1) (A), 295 A, 505 (1) (B) had also been included on the basis of evidences.
Kalicharan went to stay at a rented house 25 km away from Khajuraho to dodge the Police though he had booked a Guest house in Khajuraho. His close aides had also switched off their phones to evade the Police from tracking them. Later, he was tracked down by a team of 10 policemen. He was Arrested and taken to Raipur.
Narottam Mishra, the Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh alleged that Kalicharan was arrested by the Chhattisgarh police without informing the local police which was violative of inter-state protocols.
Bhupesh Baghel, the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh rejected the allegations made by Mishra. Baghel stated, “Narottam Mishra should tell whether he is happy or sad about the Arrest of the person who insulted Mahatma Gandhi. No rules have been violated and the Arrest made by the Chhattisgarh Police was as per procedure.”