A Naga Sadhu was brutally assaulted by the police on Monday (March 22), after he reached Bilaspur in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh.
As per reports, the Naga Sadhu has been identified as one Yogi Gangapuri from Juna Akhada. The victim arrived in Bilaspur from Trivandrum in an AC 2nd Tier train on Monday. He was scheduled to meet fellow Naga Sadhu Sambhu Maharaj at his ashram in Ansuya Dham near Chakarbhata railway station. On reaching Bilaspur, he began taking shower outside the railway station.
At that time, two police personnel reached the spot and detained him over suspicion. They then took Yogi Gangapuri to Torwa police station. To make things worse, the Naga Sadhu was unable to speak or understand the local dialect. The cops then brutally thrashed him and seized his belongings. This included ₹1.25 lac rupees cash, a mobile phone worth ₹12,000 and silver utensils. The cops then threw him outside the police station.
Yogi Gangapuri was badly injured and crept his way to the Gara Church. After finding him in an injured state, a railway official Pramod Nagai took notice of the matter. He initially thought that the victim was a mentally challenged person. On learning that the victim was a Naga Sadhu, Nagai went to his house to bring clothes for him. However, Yogi Gangapuri refused to wear clothes and said that he is bound by rules to not clothe himself.
Later, the railway official took him to his house and provided medicines to heal his wounds. He also took the Naga Sadhu to the ashram, where he was scheduled to go. When members of the BJP and the Bajrang Dal learnt about the matter, they took the victim to the police station. He was able to identify that place.
Sudarshan News reported that the victim had informed that the police hit him in his private parts with sticks. In a video clip shared by the news channel, it could be seen that his back had been bruised badly. Yogi Gangapuri met the IG (Bilaspur) Ratanlal Dangi along with other Hindu leaders. He has demanded justice from Dangi and urged that the police return the documents that were given to him by his Juna Akhada. While the police have so far not returned his belongings, they have handed back his mobile phone.