Sitapur hate speech: Hatemonger issues rape threat to women of other faith

The Uttar Pradesh police have begun investigating a video in which a Hindu priest is seen allegedly threatening to kidnap and rape Muslim women while addressing a public gathering outside a mosque in Sitapur district.

The video shows a man clad in saffron robes, reportedly the local mahant in a small town called Khairabad, addressing a gathering from inside a jeep. A man in a police uniform can also be seen in the background.

The controversial footage displays a man in saffron robes, reportedly the local mahant in a town known as Khairabad, addressing a public gathering from inside a vehicle. A policeman can also be seen in the backgroundof the video

Talking on a microphone, the man clad in saffron robe seems to make communal and provocative remarks as the crowd cheers him with chants of "Jai Shri Ram".

The man alleges a plan to murder him and adds that a sum of Rs 28 lakh has been amassed for this.

The man then purportedly says that if a Muslim harasses any girl in the area, he would kidnap Muslim women and publicly rape them. The threat is received with loud clamours.

The video was shared by Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of fact-check website AltNews, he said the video was shot on 2nd April but no action had been taken by the police even after five days.

In response to his tweet, Sitapur police said a senior officer is investigating the matter and that action will be taken on the basis of facts.

Many Twitter users have also flagged the communal remarks to the UN human rights body and National Commission for Women, seeking intervention.

PS we are not sharing the video as we don't want to amplify his 'threat message', however, what he is doing is entirely wrong and action should be taken against him by the authorities.

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