By Waquar Hasan

NEW DELHI — A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Sachin Sirohi, President of the All India Hindu Suraksha Sangathan, for allegedly creating communal tension over construction at a centuries-old mosque in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

The FIR was lodged at the Civil Lines Police Station on Thursday when Hindu Raksha Dal leaders were attempting to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside the mosque located in the Kaiserganj area. Sirohi, who allegedly started the dispute over the mosque, was booked under Section 196(1)(a) (Attempts to Promote Enmity) and Section 66D of the IT Act.

The FIR does not mention the dispute related to the mosque but points out the inflammatory speeches made by Sirohi in a video.

“In the said video, inflammatory statements/speeches related to the Hindu-Muslim community have been given. From the video, there is a possibility of creating feelings of enmity, hatred, or tension between both communities, and affecting public peace and law and order. It cannot be denied that due to the rapid spread of the video on social media, there is a possibility of controversy or communal tension arising at the local level. The person spreading the video, Sachin Sirohi, has committed an offence under Section 196(1)(a) BNS and 66D IT Act,” stated the FIR.

Speaking to The Hindustan Gazette, advocate Faheem Raja, who was among the complainants in the case, said they had also named Hindu Raksha Dal leader Pinki Chaudhry in the complaint but he was not booked by the police.

According to Raja, Sirohi was booked for the video in which he had targeted mosques and called for their demolition. He had objected to the coming of the Imam to the district, calling them “Bangladeshi”.

“He is a controversial man and often targets mosques in the area where Muslims are in the minority. He targets a small [mosque] located in any market. We had forced the authorities to jail him once for destroying the wall of a mosque’s toilet in Cant area. After that, he started targeting the Kaiserganj mosque,” he said.

This story was originally published in thehindustangazette.com. Read the full story here.