UP: 15 held in Meerut for 'unauthorised' protest against Yati Narsinghanand

Meerut (UP), Oct 8 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday arrested 15 people for leading an unauthorised protest against controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand in the Mundali area of Meerut, a day after their demonstration, officials said.

The protest involved religious sloganeering and escalated when demonstrators allegedly attacked the police, obstructing them in their duty, they said.

According to the district police's spokesperson, the accused, Haseen, along with approximately 200 people, organised an unauthorised rally armed with sticks and swords, inciting religious sentiments.

"Despite attempts by the police to disperse the crowd, the protesters engaged in verbal abuse and attempted to assault the police," the official said.

The protest was met with police intervention after reports of stone-pelting emerged. An FIR was registered against 180 people in connection with the event under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita with 30 named and 150 unidentified persons, the police said.

"Taking the incident seriously, on the instructions of Senior Superintendent of Police, Meerut, to arrest the criminals, today the police station under the leadership of Mundali Police Station in-charge Pramod Kumar Singh arrested Nawazish, Zubair, Zafar, Irfan, Shahzad, Nadeem, Sahane Alam, Sarfaraz, Chand, Alamgir, Maulvi Faisal, Shahzad, Ravis Khan, Zeeshan and Salman," the police spokesperson said.

On Monday hundreds of youths and children took to the streets demanding action against Yati Narsinghanand for his alleged remarks on Prophet Muhammed. The priest of the Ghaziabad-based Dasna temple faces multiple FIRs and his remarks have resulted in several protests in the state and beyond. PTI