Row over Hindu seer’s remark; 21 cops hurt in Amravati mob attack

Twenty-one policemen were injured after a mob hurled stones at them in Maharashtra’s Amravati to demand registration of a case for a Hindu seer’s “objectionable” remarks against Prophet Mohammad, the police said.

The police later registered a case against the Hindu seer, Yati Narsinghanand from Ghaziabad, for his remarks against the Prophet. At least 10 police vans were damaged in the stone-pelting incident that took place on Friday night outside the Nagpuri Gate police station in Amravati.

A case has been registered against 1,200 persons in this connection and the police have identified 26 of them, an official said. “A huge mob, including members of some organisations, came to the Nagpuri Gate police station around 8.15 pm to press for their demand of registration of a case against Yati Narsinghanand,” Amravati Police Commissioner Navin Chandra Reddy said. The in-charge of that police station told the mob that one FIR had already been registered in connection with their demand, following which the mob went back, he said. “But as some people circulated the video of the Hindu seer’s remarks, a large group of persons returned to the police station. But when the police officers were trying to persuade the crowd, the mob suddenly started throwing stones at the police personnel,” Reddy said.