On December 27, Barmer Police arrested three people for allegedly burning pages of Hindu holy scriptures during an initiation to Buddhism event.
While Hindu organisations are alleging that pages of the Gita were burnt, the Bhim Army members claim they burnt pages of Manusmriti. Three people arrested in the matter were identified as Ajmal, Amritlal and Arjunsingh.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Narpat Singh told news agency ANI that the incident occurred on December 25. A video went viral on social media of burning Hindu scripture. A case was registered in the matter, and three people were arrested. Police said more arrests might take place.
Notably, ‘Manusmriti Dahan Diwas’ takes place every year in different parts of the country, following the footsteps of Dr BR Ambedkar, who started it in 1927.
The conversion program of December 25
On December 25, advocates Amrit Dante, Bhant Kashyap, and their associates of Samta Sainik Dal organised a conversion program to initiate Hindus to Buddhism. The event was organised at Bhakasar in district Barmer, Rajasthan. During that event, pages of Hindu Holy Scripture were allegedly burnt, and the remains were crushed under the feet. A video was made of the incident and shared on social media that went viral.
On December 26, Hindu community members gathered and protested against the incident. A complaint was filed at Bhakasar police station. ASP Singh said in a statement that a case was filed under Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and three people were arrested in the matter. Further investigation is underway. The police are also trying to get the video removed from social media platforms. Notably, Bhakasar is a sensitive area sharing a border with Pakistan.
Members of the Hindu community said anti-social elements are trying to create a law and order problem in the country. Locals said they do not have a problem with people converting to Buddhism, but they cannot tolerate insults to Hindu Holy Scriptures.