Goonda Act to be slapped on Yati Narsinghanand by Ghaziabad police

Ghaziabad: A process of slapping the Gooda Act has been initiated by the Ghaziabad police on Dasna Devi temple head priest Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, who was recently appointed the mahamandleshwar of influential Juna Akhara.

Police has forwarded a file in this regard to the sub-divisional magistrate for approval, after which it will be sent to the district police chief and the district magistrate (DM) for their nod.

Saraswati had recently shared on his Facebook page his appointment as the mahamandleshwar of the Juna Akhara.

SSP Pawan Kumar told PTI that they initiated action keeping in mind his anti-social activities like manhandling, attempt to murder, use of derogatory language and obstructing police checking outside the temple.

Saraswati is becoming a danger for law and order of the district, the officer said.

Known for his controversial remarks, Saraswati had earlier this month had charged that a minor Muslim boy had been sent to snoop on him and in the boy’s community, there are “trained killers” of his age.

In a video clip that surfaced on social media, Narsinghanand could be heard accusing the boy standing next to him of entering the temple premises to carry out a “recce”.

Earlier, he had also called former president APJ Abdul Kalam a “jihadi”, saying, “Any Muslim in the top echelons of the country cannot be pro-India.” He accused the late Kalam of “supplying the formula of the atom bomb to Pakistan as DRDO chief”.

Yati Narsinghanand background

His elevation to one of the highest titles accorded by an akhara assumes significance, given how he has been accused of inciting communal tension through “extremely provocative speeches” against the Muslim community on several occasions. He also made headlines earlier this year after he allegedly told devotees that women politicians, particularly in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are “mistresses” of their male counterparts.

This Tuesday, Yati Narsinghanand’s female disciple Madhu Sharma, also known as Maa Madhura, was seen assaulting a Muslim man on a train, forcing him to touch her feet after she alleged that he pushed her while passing through the railway coach.

Earlier this month, Narsinghanand himself landed in controversy when he called a 10-year-old Muslim boy “a trained killer” for wandering in the vicinity of the Dasna Devi temple. The boy, police later confirmed, had got lost on his way to the community health centre, where his pregnant sister-in-law was admitted, and accidentally entered the temple.