Cops impose Sec 144 to prevent Dharma Sansad

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC was imposed in Dada Jalalpur village near Uttarakhand’s Roorkee where a Hindu mahapanchayat was slated to be held on Wednesday even as police arrested six people associated with the event.

Kali Sena, a Hindu outfit, had earlier announced holding the mahapanchayat to discuss the attack on the community during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on April 16.

Police’s move to impose Section 144 in the area came a day after the Supreme Court directed the Uttarakhand government to ensure that no hate speeches are delivered at the event. The court also demanded an explanation from the state chief secretary on the steps taken to prevent “unwarranted utterances” and the actions taken against such speakers. Strict vigil was maintained and five companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary were deployed along with the police around the village, district administration officials said.

On Tuesday evening, Kali Sena state coordinator Dineshanand Bharti and five others were arrested under section 151 of CrPC which says that a “police officer knowing of a design to commit any cognizable offence may arrest, without orders from a magistrate and without a warrant, the person so designing, if it appears to such officer that the commission of the offence cannot be otherwise prevented”.

“No outsider was allowed to enter the area and no meeting was held at Dada Jalalpur village,” Haridwar SSP Yogendra Singh Rawat said.