Police have booked a Hindu outfit leader in Meerut for reciting Hanuman Chalisa near a mosque inside the Cantonment area and disrupting communal harmony, police said on Wednesday.
"Sachin Sirohi, who claims to be the national president of the All Bhartiya Hindu Suraksha Sansthan, has been booked along with some unidentified men under relevant sections of BNS," Circle Officer Santosh Kumar Singh said.
According to the police report, Sirohi and his associates on Monday created a ruckus outside the mosque, claiming it to be illegal. They then recited Hanuman Chalisa (a prayer dedicated to lord Hanuman) near the mosque and allegedly threatened to demolish it, it stated.
As the news of the incident spread through the city, it caused panic among locals.
"There was chaos among the passengers coming to the railway station and on the road at the parking place outside the Cantt Railway Station," the police report stated.
In response, members of the Muslim community, including Taskeen Salmani, the mosque's mutwalli (caretaker), filed a police complaint.
When questioned about the mosque's legality, Singh said, "We cannot decide this. Only the court will do it."
The officer further asserted that efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
Meanwhile, a delegation of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen met Meerut Senior Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada, seeking strict action against Sirohi under UAPA.
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