Yati Narsinghanand, one of the organisers of the Haridwar Dharam Sansad event which became entangled in claims of controversy of hate speech, was arrested from Uttarakhand. He was detained while conducting a hunger strike against the arrest of Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, formerly known as Waseem Rizvi, who was associated with the same event. Yati has been brought to the city police station, Haridwar Superintendent of Police (City) Swatantra Kumar said. FIRs had been filed against both Yati and Tyagi, after the Sansad event reportedly called for violence against one particular community.
The arrest comes after a Supreme Court intervention, seeking responses from the Centre and others on a petition seeking a direction to ensure investigation and action against those who allegedly made hate speeches.
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A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana had issued notice on the plea filed by journalist Qurban Ali and former Patna High Court judge and senior advocate Anjana Prakash, who sought a direction for an "independent, credible and impartial investigation" by an SIT into the incidents of alleged hate speeches. The bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, permitted the petitioners to give representation to the local authority against the holding of future Dharam Sansad events.