The headmaster of a school in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district was detained on Sunday (28th January) on allegations of inciting religious hatred after delivering a speech to students and a group of about 15 people urging them not to believe in Hindu Gods.
Ratanlal Sarovar, 60, delivered the speech on 22nd January at Mohtarai village, under the jurisdiction of Ratanpur police station, on the day of the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha in Ayodhya. He addressed the assembled village residents, named a number of Hindu Gods and purportedly pledged not to worship them. Instead, he encouraged the gathering to practice Buddhism.
A video of the speech was subsequently released on YouTube, and a Hindu activist Rupesh Shukla filed a complaint with the local police. Shukla said that the speech hurt the feelings of Sanatan Dharma practitioners.
“In his statement, Sarovar told us he was asking people to follow the teachings of B R Ambedkar and that he is a Hindu, but believes in the teachings of Ambedkar,” a police officer said.
Notably, the district’s school administration is said to have suspended Sarovar after the event. He is currently in judicial custody.
“Based on the complaint, an FIR has been registered against him under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class),” said Ratanpur police station in charge, inspector Devesh Singh Rathore.