Open-air firing to ‘worship weapons’ on Dussehra at Ghaziabad temple
FIRE POWER Routine practice, says temple priest; SSP orders probe, warns of action
GHAZIABAD : As part of Dussehra celebrations on Saturday, dozens of men and women at the ancient Devi Temple in Dasna, Ghaziabad fired in the air, describing the act as a practice session after the ‘Shastra Pujan’ ritual – a custom where firearms are cleaned and worshipped on Vijaydashmi.
At the temple complex, the show of firepower was initiated by a saree-clad woman who loaded the rifle by pointing it in the air and fired shots.
She was followed by men who performed the same feat amid chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and ‘Jai Kara Vir Bajrangi.’
The show went on with double barrel rifles, revolvers, single barrel guns and pistols and their owners firing multiple rounds to celebrate the day.
“We have come to know that there was open-air firing at the temple complex. We asked the officials of the police station concerned to check and report about the incident that took place on Saturday. Action will be taken and no one will be allowed to take law into their hands,” said Hari Narain Singh, senior superintendent of police, Ghaziabad.
The act was in the presence of Yati Narsimhanand Saraswati, the mahant of the temple. Yati shot to limelight in 2016 when reports of arms training camps made headlines. The camps were allegedly run by Chetna Sharma, who heads the Hindu Swabhiman Sangathan and is considered to be the right-hand of Yati.
However, upon police investigation, officials could not find any instance of illegal weapons being used in the camps.
“The firing of shots in air on Dussehra is just a sequence following the cleaning of arms. After they are cleaned and worshipped, the licence holders fire some rounds to check the correctness and firing prowess of the weapon. There was nothing illegal and all firing was done by licensed arms holders who arrived at the temple complex,” Sharma said.
Narsimhanand said the practice has been going on for years. “Each year, devotees arrive at our temple with arms and worship them. Later they fire rounds just to check the weapons. We ensured everyone is a valid arms licence holder. Even women perform the ritual,” he said.
The Devi temple is famous for its board on the main gate, ‘disallowing entry to Muslims’. In September 2016, the temple hosted a two-day Naari Sansad for Hindu women. Sharma and the participants urged Hindu women to abstain from birth control and to have at least 3-4 children.