Complaint lodged against Bageshwar Dham Sarkar for controversial statement about Sai Baba

A Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) Yuva Sena leader has submitted a written complaint letter to Mumbai police demanding that an FIR be lodged against self-styled godman of Bageshwar Dham Dhirendra Krishna Shastri for allegedly making controversial statements about 20th century saint Shirdi Sai Baba.

The Yuva Sena leader, Rrahul Narain Kanal submitted a complaint to Mumbai's Bandra Police on April 3.

According to the complaint letter, which has been accessed by ANI, Kanal wrote, "I came across a video excerpt of a self-styled Baba prominently addressed as Bageshwar Dham Sarkar in which the said Baba in his typical fashion addresses a large assembly of his purported devotees and responds to queries from the audience."

"One of Shastri's devotees queries him on the persona of Sai Baba's worship being compared to other deities of Hindu religion. Astoundingly, Shastri responds to the question of his devotee in the manner most schemingly veiled with an ulterior motive and denigrates the honour, adorability and invocation of Sai Baba," it added.Such derogatory remarks on the reverence of Sai Baba not only deserve condemnation but also warrant for criminal action under section 153-A and other offences of IPC as it is equivalent to spreading hatred and enmity within the community and sub sections, he wrote.

The conduct of the Bageshwar Dham Sarkar in raising objections against Sai Baba and the devotee who sought response appears to be insensitive and appears to be deliberate in order to insult Sai Baba. This is evident in creating a communal rift within a peaceful society and comes under the ambit of hate speech.

This should be thoroughly investigated in view of the guidelines of the Supreme Court to prevent hate speeches in public assemblies, he further wrote in the letter. Notably, Shastri had said, "Shankaracharya of our religion did not give Sai Baba the place of God. It is the religion of every Sanatani to obey Shankaracharya because he is the prime minister of our religion. Sai Baba can be a saint, can be a fakir but cannot be God."

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