On Monday, 27th January, an auto-driver identified as Mohd Ishaq Khan threatened Hindu temple authorities for playing Hanuman Chalisa in the Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. He said that if the authorities had so much urge to ‘showcase’ love for their religion, they should go to Ayodhya where a huge Ram temple has recently been built. He also said that if the rendition of ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ was not stopped, he would vandalize the premises.
“If you are so much fond of becoming a Hindu, then go to Ayodhya. Don’t keep on doing ‘Hindu-Hindu’ here, otherwise, I will remove the ‘chonga’ from the Mandir and throw it away,” he threatened using abusive language as he asked the authorities to stop playing Hanuman Chalisa on speaker.
The video of the incident has gone viral over the internet in which the accused can be seen arriving in his vehicle and threatening the temple authorities. He also used vulgar language to threaten the temple authorities and made offensive remarks against Hindu deities.
"If you are so fond of becoming a Hindu, then go to Ayodhya (abusive language). Don't keep saying 'Hindu-Hindu' here, otherwise I will remove the 'chonga' from the Mandir and throw it away (abusive language)."
— Treeni (@TheTreeni) January 28, 2025
Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh: Mohd Ishaq stopped his e-rickshaw next to a… pic.twitter.com/qWBeD9ah3e
The incident sparked outrage among the community raising communal tensions. The Hindus started protesting against the event and demanded strict police action against the accused. Dhananjay Giri Goswami, a member of the Hindu Sanatani Group, said that Ishaq Khan needed to face the law as he had made derogatory comments about Hindu deities and abused Hindu religion.
“The sound from the temple causes discomfort to him. Who is going to tell him that the sounds of Azaan that come out of Masjids five times a day also cause discomfort to many? How dare he talk about other religions when his own religion practices the same? Ishaq Khan constantly talks against Hindus. Now this can’t be tolerated. We would continue to recite and play Hanuman Chalisa here. He can’t tell us what to do and what not to do,” Goswami was quoted as saying.
The incident is believed to have happened on the 27th of January morning at 7 AM. The Hindus gheraoed the police station after the video of the incident went viral over social media. They demanded the strictest punishment against the accused person.
OpIndia contacted the Bilaspur Police Station to know whether the FIR in the case had been filed. Later the police returned the call and confirmed that the accused had been arrested and charged under sections 170 (Arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offenses), 126 (security for keeping the peace), and 135 (prevention of a breach of the peace or disturbance of the public tranquillity), and 3 of the Bharatiya Nyay Suraksha Samhita, 2023.
The police also confirmed that the arrest was immediately executed by the Police in an attempt to maintain peace within the district.
Further updates in the case are awaited.
