Hindu leader arrested for enacting Gandhi assassination

A leader belonging to a Hindu Radical Group in India who sparked a controversy for shooting an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi was arrested by Police on Wednesday, officials said.

Pooja Pandey from the Hindu Mahasabha had organised an event to “celebrate’’ the 71st anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination in Uttar Pradesh state’s Aligarh city.

A video of the incident that has since gone viral shows Pandey shooting the effigy with an air pistol and later setting it ablaze.

She also garlanded a picture of Hindu nationalist Nathuram Godse, who shot Gandhi.

She and her husband Ashok were on the run after the video triggered outrage with demands for her arrest and prosecution.

“Pandey and her husband Ashok were arrested from a hideout near Aligarh on Wednesday. She is the key accused who organised the entire event,’’ local police officer Neeraj Jadaun said by phone.

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“Nine of the 11 accused have been arrested, two are still absconding. The charges against them include unlawful assembly and promoting enmity among people, with a maximum punishment of a seven-year jail term if found guilty,’’ he added.

The Hindu Mahasabha regards the day of Gandhi’s assassination, Jan. 30, as “Shaurya Divas’’ (Bravery Day) in honour of Godse, who was associated with the organisation.

Hindu right-wing groups are opposed to Gandhi’s ideology, which they blame for India’s 1947 partition, which created Pakistan.

This is not the first time the Hindu Mahasabha has tried to glorify Godse; in the past years, its leaders also announced controversial plans to install Godse’s statues at public places and temples in India.

NAN

 
 

A leader belonging to a Hindu Radical Group in India who sparked a controversy for shooting an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi was arrested by Police on Wednesday, officials said.

Pooja Pandey from the Hindu Mahasabha had organised an event to “celebrate’’ the 71st anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination in Uttar Pradesh state’s Aligarh city.

A video of the incident that has since gone viral shows Pandey shooting the effigy with an air pistol and later setting it ablaze.

She also garlanded a picture of Hindu nationalist Nathuram Godse, who shot Gandhi.

She and her husband Ashok were on the run after the video triggered outrage with demands for her arrest and prosecution.

“Pandey and her husband Ashok were arrested from a hideout near Aligarh on Wednesday. She is the key accused who organised the entire event,’’ local police officer Neeraj Jadaun said by phone.

Read Also: ‘Nigerians are religious’

“Nine of the 11 accused have been arrested, two are still absconding. The charges against them include unlawful assembly and promoting enmity among people, with a maximum punishment of a seven-year jail term if found guilty,’’ he added.

The Hindu Mahasabha regards the day of Gandhi’s assassination, Jan. 30, as “Shaurya Divas’’ (Bravery Day) in honour of Godse, who was associated with the organisation.

Hindu right-wing groups are opposed to Gandhi’s ideology, which they blame for India’s 1947 partition, which created Pakistan.

This is not the first time the Hindu Mahasabha has tried to glorify Godse; in the past years, its leaders also announced controversial plans to install Godse’s statues at public places and temples in India.

NAN

 
 

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