Can give guns to 'harassed' Hindus of Dadri: Yogi Adityanath's group

A group formed by controversial Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Yogi Adityanath --known for his interest in religious conversions dubbed "ghar wapasi" -- offered all possible help "including guns" to the Hindus of Dadri's Bisada village.

The Hindu Yuva Vahini contended that the Hindus of the Uttar Pradesh village were being hounded following the lynching of a 52-year-old man last week over reports of cow slaughter.

"We will go and meet Hindus who are being harassed by authorities. We will provide them all possible help, be it tan-man-dhan-gun (body, mind, wealth and guns), if they are harassed," said Jitendra Tyagi, one of the members of the group.

So far nine persons are been arrested in the case - seven of them are said to be related to a local BJP leader. His son had allegedly instigated the mob that had attacked the home of 52-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq on September 28.

Fearing arrest, many of the village's young men have gone into hiding and the locals have turned the village into a fortress, strictly monitoring the entry of outsiders.

Several members of 'Hindu Yuva Vahini' tried to enter the village today but were stopped by the police in view of the prohibitory orders which have been in place since the incident.

Talking to the media outside the village, Tyagi, however, said the killing of Mohammad Akhlaq was "sad" and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into it. But he also wondered why "only Muslims" were being offered compensation, while the family of Jay Prakash, a youth who allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday, has not been offered assistance.

"The one who slaughters cows are being compensated. Did they earn this money on their own? Why only Muslims are getting help? Why Jay Prakash has not been given any help?" Tyagi asked.

In December last year, Yogi Adityanath had taken an interest in the conversion of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism. The ceremony had been dubbed ghar wapasi, meaning home coming, as the groups sponsoring them maintained the candidates belonged to families that were once Hindus.

He had also been accused of making a hate speech ahead of the national elections in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar, which was seared by deadly Hindu-Muslim riots in 2013.