Priest booked for reciting Hanuman Chalisa near mosque

KANPUR: A case was registered against a temple priest for reciting the Hanuman Chalisa allegedly using a loudspeaker before a mosque at the time of azaan (Muslim call for prayers) in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh, the police said.

The case was registered against him on the basis of a complaint, said SK Rathore, station house officer of the kotwali police station in Jalaun.

The priest, Mahant Matyendra Das Goswami, resorted to a dharna in protest against the police action. He, however, ended his protest following talks with the district and police officials.

According to the police, the mahant, who lives in Tulsi Nagar, recited Hanuman Chalisa in front of a mosque on Station Road in Jalaun. The case was registered for breaching the peace on Thursday after crosschecking the facts, the police said. The notice has been served under Section 107/116 of the CrPC. Additional director general (Kanpur zone) Bhanu Bhaskar

said no one was above the law. If someone violates the rules or tries to vitiate the atmosphere, the police would inquire and initiate action, he said.

In his defence, the mahant alleged the police acted in haste without properly looking into the facts. He said Hanuman Chalisa was recited before the mosque on Station Road, but loudspeaker was not used.

“I have been served notice on the basis of a fake complaint, which was not cross checked by the sub-divisional magistrate,” he said, adding that this was an attempt to malign his image and hurt the sentiments of the saints’ community. He said he has written to chief minister Yogi Adityanath and senior police officials about the incident.

Earlier, the mahant allegedly had shut down shops selling meat and chicken in the Bajaria locality of Orai, the headquarters of Jalaun district. Goswami, who had sought the BJP ticket from the Madhogarh assembly constituency (in Jalaun district) in the recently concluded UP polls, had filed his nomination as an independent, but his papers were rejected.