- Wednesday, February 26, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
COPS in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh on Thursday (30) arrested Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj from the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh in connection with his alleged derogatory remarks made against Mahatma Gandhi, official sources said.
Bhupesh Baghel, the chief minister of Chhattisgarh which is ruled by the Indian National Congress, later said that action will be taken against those who use abusive language against the ‘Father of the Nation’ who gave the world the message of peace and non-violence.
A police team from Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, caught Maharaj alias Abhijeet Dhananjay Saraag around 4 am local time from a rented room near Bageshwar Dham which is located around 25 kilometres from the town of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, Raipur superintendent of police Prashant Agarwal told the Press Trust of India.
“Three separate teams of Raipur police were sent to trace Kalicharan in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. The seven-member team which was sent to MP got the success and arrested Kalicharan near Khajuraho, where he was staying in the rented room,” the official said.
The religious leader was set to be produced in a court in Raipur within 24 hours of custody, the official added.
Baghel, who is in New Delhi to attend a meeting of finance ministers of India’s states which has been called by the country’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, shared a video clip on Twitter handle in which he said action will be taken against those who make offensive remarks against the Mahatma.
“Mahatma Gandhi gave the message of peace, brotherhood, love, truth, non-violence and equality to the world, and if anyone uses abusive language against such a legendary person, then action will be taken against him. The Chhattisgarh Police have taken action. His (Kalicharan) family members and lawyer have been informed and he will be produced in a court within 24 hours,” Baghel, who also holds charge of Chhattisgarh’s finance department. said.
A police report was registered against Maharaj in Raipur on Sunday (26) on charges of using derogatory words against the Mahatma.
A case was also filed against him in Akola in the western state of Maharashtra from where he belongs.
The seer allegedly attacked Gandhi at the two-day ‘dharma sansad’ (religious parliament) in Raipur and asked people to elect a staunch Hindu leader as the head of the government to protect the religion. He also hailed Nathuram Godse, the right-wing Hindu nationalist who assassinated Gandhi.
Even after facing flak, Maharaj remained defiant over his words and said he hated Gandhi.
