Over 300 fake 'babas' arrested in Uttarakhand under 'Operation Kalanemi'

Dehradun, Aug 25 (PTI) Under 'Operation Kalanemi' being run in Uttarakhand against the fake saints duping people in the name of Sanatan Dharma, more than 300 fake 'babas', including a Bangladeshi national, have been arrested, officials said on Monday.

This operation was started last month on the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

The officials said that under the operation, more than 4,000 people in the state who were allegedly cheating and playing with religious sentiments of the people and hiding their identity have been verified so far, out of which more than 300 people have been arrested.

In Haridwar district, 2,301 people have been identified and 162 people have been arrested. Similarly, in Dehradun, 865 people were identified and 113 people nabbed, while the number of arrests in Udham Singh Nagar is 17.

Apart from this, this campaign is continuing in other parts of the state also.

In Dehradun, a Bangladeshi national -- Rukn Rakam alias Shah Alam -- who was living in Sahaspur while posing as saint, was also arrested.

'Kalanemi' was an Asura who is mentioned in both the major Hindu scriptures (Ramayana and Mahabharata). Kalanemi, the son of Ravana's maternal uncle Maricha, disguised as a saint, tried to block the path of Hanuman who was bringing Sanjivani herb to break Laxman's unconscious state. However, Hanuman saw through his true identity and killed him.

During the Mahabharata period, Kalanemi was reborn as Kansa who was killed by Lord Krishna.

While launching this operation, CM Dhami had said that just like the demon Kalanemi had tried to mislead people by disguising himself as a saint, similarly, there are many such people who are committing crimes in the guise of saints and sages.

Dhami said that those involved in any kind of illegal activity in Devbhoomi, cheating by hiding identity or playing with religious sentiments will not be spared. PTI DPT NB