SP leader alleges 'house arrest' before filing FIR against Narsinghanand
What's the story
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Sumayya Rana, daughter of the late poet Munawwar Rana, has claimed that she and several women activists were detained under "house arrest" by Lucknow police on Saturday.
The alleged detention occurred as they were preparing to file a complaint against Yati Narsinghanand for his purported offensive remarks about Prophet Muhammad.
Rana also stated that the police prevented them from going to the station, forcing them to submit it in writing to an assistant commissioner instead.
Protest plan
Rana's planned protest and threat to police
Rana revealed that they had intended to visit the Kaiserbagh police station to submit a written complaint against Narsinghanand, followed by a candle march to Parivartan Chowk.
But before that, she claimed police arrived at her home around 11:30am on Saturday and placed them under alleged "house arrest."
Later, they contacted Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ratnesh Singh and handed over their written complaint.
Accusation details
Rana accuses Narsinghanand of hurting religious sentiments
Rana has accused Narsinghanand of making remarks that have hurt religious feelings and threatened to disrupt communal harmony in India.
She warned ACP Singh that if no action was taken on their complaint, they would surround his police station.
However, the police have refuted Rana's claims of house arrest.
ACP Singh stated that her complaint was duly registered according to regulations and denied any reports of law and order issues.
Unrest follows
Narsinghanand's remarks spark protests, police file FIR
Narsinghanand's alleged derogatory comments about Prophet Muhammad have incited protests in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district and beyond.
On Thursday, the Ghaziabad police initiated a suo-motu FIR against him for purportedly making offensive remarks intended to hurt the feelings of a "specific community" during an event on September 29.
The video at the center of this controversy allegedly shows Narsinghanand making a "hate speech" that offended Muslims, according to locals.
Denial statement
What did Narsinghanand say
According to Siasat Daily, Narsinghanand said, "If you have to burn effigies on every Dussehra, then burn the effigies of Muhammad."
He further stated that the dream of "Akhand Hindu Rashtra was the dream of Veer Savarkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This dream should not be limited to Afghanistan; we should strive until Hindutva reaches Makkah and Kaaba."