Remarks against Agrawal, Sindhi communities: Johar Chhattisgarh Party chief Amit Baghel held

Raipur, Dec 5 (PTI) Johar Chhattisgarh Party (JCP) chief Amit Baghel was arrested in Raipur on Friday for allegedly making derogatory remarks against revered figures of the Agrawal and Sindhi communities, a police official said.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai confirmed the development.

"Baghel was about to surrender when the police arrested him from Paras Nagar Chowk. He was absconding for last many days after FIRs were lodged at Telibandha, Devendra Nagar and Kotwali police stations. JFMC judge Jenifer Lakra remanded him in police custody for three days," Devendra Nagar police station SHO Jitendra Asaiya said.

In October this year, Baghel was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) based on two separate complaints at Kotwali and Devendra Nagar police stations in Raipur, he said.

As per the FIR, Baghel, on October 26, allegedly made offensive remarks against Maharaja Agrasen and Jhulelal, revered figures of Agrawal and Sindhi communities, respectively, during a media interaction after a statue of 'Chhattisgarh Mahtari' was vandalized at VIP Chowk under Telibandha police station limits here.

Statues of Chhattisgarh Mahtari, a revered mother figure traditionally depicted wearing a green-coloured saree holding a bunch of paddy and a sickle in one hand and giving blessings with the other, were installed across the state during the previous Congress government.

Members of the Chhattisgarhiya Kranti Sena and its political wing Johar Chhattisgarh Party had gathered at the site and staged a protest.

The FIR alleged that Baghel's statements were deliberate and aimed at creating social disharmony and disturbing peace in the state. PTI COR BNM