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NDTV
7 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Atmosphere Of Fear": Chandra Shekhar Aazad To NDTV On Kanwar Yatra "Violence"
New Delhi: Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) president Chandra Shekhar Aazad has defended the schoolteacher in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly who is facing a police case for a song that purportedly referred to the Kanwar Yatra, an annual procession undertaken by devotees of Lord Shiva. Rajneesh Gangwar, a teacher at MGM Inter College, was seen in the viral video singing the song to students who had gathered in the school premises. "Kanwar leke mat jana, tum gyan ka deep jalana, manavta ke seva karke tum sachche manav ban jaana," he said in Hindi, which roughly translates to: "Don't bring Kanwars, go light the lamp of knowledge. Become a true human by serving humanity." A case was filed against him on Monday after a local corporator and some BJP leaders approached the police and demanded action. Speaking to NDTV, Mr Aazad, a member of the Lok Sabha from Uttar Pradesh's Nagina, said the teacher just talked about "serving humanity". "We believe in the Constitution of India. In Article 51A, which is a fundamental duty, it is stated that every citizen must develop scientific thinking and get rid of superstition and hypocrisy. I heard the teacher. He had appealed to children to become humanists. But the government has filed a case against him for talking about humanity," Mr Aazad, who is also a lawyer, said. He said the teacher had said that you can't become a doctor, engineer or lawyer by participating in the Kanwar Yatra. "What did he say wrong?" Mr Aazad said. Mr Gangwar expressed regret if his words inadvertently hurt anyone's sentiments. In a clarification video and a letter sent to the school principal, he said that he "noticed a continuous decline in student attendance at MGM Inter College." "Upon questioning, he learned that many young students were absent due to their participation in the Kanwar Yatra," he wrote. He said it was in this context that he recited the poem to students during the morning assembly on July 12. His primary objective, he clarified, was "to make young students aware of the dangers of going into crowded areas on roads, staying away from intoxication, and maintaining regular attendance in class." Chandra Shekhar Aazad On Kanwar Yatra "Violence" Chandra Shekhar Aazad also questioned why there was no action against some people who were resorting to "violence" during the Kanwar Yatra, referring to recent incidents of Kanwariyas allegedly damaging cars after they brushed past them. Some of them have "created an atmosphere of terror" among women and children, he said. "People's businesses have been ruined. Their shops have been shut down. One religion in particular is also being targeted," he said, and asked if this is a "secular nation". "They have sticks in their hands and are breaking people's glasses and bones. There is an atmosphere of fear in families. I have talked to many people who are not ready to go from one district to another because they feel that if by mistake something happens, then they will be treated like animals or can be lynched," Mr Aazad said.
India Today
03-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Fact Check: Bhim Army supporters' heads shaved, paraded by cops? This is from Rajasthan, not UP
Violence erupted in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on June 29 after police placed Nagina MP Chandra Shekhar Aazad under house arrest. Aazad was heading to meet the families of victims in two different cases in Kaushami and Karchana when he was stopped by the police. At least 85 people have been arrested for allegedly damaging three police vehicles and other public property in Prayagraj. advertisementNow, a video allegedly showing the Prayagraj police punishing those who led the violence has gone viral. The clip shows policemen parading a group of men whose heads had been the video on X, one person wrote, 'Look what Baba's Police have done with the blue hooligans who went on a rampage after getting instigated to take law and order in their own hand in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. Where is the Kingpin?' India Today Fact Check, however, found that this video is from June 2, when police officers paraded culprits accused of planning to loot a petrol pump in Baran, Rajasthan. It has nothing to do with the Prayagraj ProbeWe noticed the watermark of an Instagram account, '@virendrasingh6513', in the viral video. We found that this account had posted a longer version of the clip on June 2. The caption of the post stated that the Baran police arrested 12 people for allegedly planning to loot a petrol pump. Baran is a district in Rajasthan. advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Virendra Singh (@virendrasingh6513)We then found multiple news reports about this incident. According to an NDTV report, 12 people were arrested in Baran for planning to loot petrol pumps in areas under the jurisdiction of two different police stations. The police shaved off the heads of the alleged culprits, who could be seen apologising with folded hands, and parading the night of May 31, Kishanganj SHO Vinod Kumar's team arrested five people, namely Itihas Ali, Ashiq, Mohammed Khalid, Shahrukh, and Raju Nayak, for planning the loot. Seven other members of the group — Deepak Nayak, Lekhraj Yadav, Rohit Yadav, Sonu Yadav, Shailendra Mali, Lalit Yogi, and Deepak Nagar — were arrested in Anta city of the arrests, police also seized pistols, live cartridges, a knife, and an iron rod, among other things. On June 2, the police shaved the heads of all the accused in the case and paraded them on the up culprits, also from RajasthanAnother video making the rounds on social media allegedly showed Bhim Army activists arrested, walking with bandages on their heads and arms. Those sharing the clip claimed they were roughed up by the Prayagraj police for the June 29 violence. This video, however, is from June 4 and shows a gang that used to extort money from businessmen in the name of gangster Goldy Brar in Sri Ganganagar, is, thus, clear that two old videos from Rajasthan were falsely shared in connection with the Prayagraj violence.- EndsTrending Reel Want to send us something for verification? Please share it on our at 73 7000 7000 You can also send us an email at factcheck@
