Shimla, Nov 18,
Members of the Ram Krishna Mission accused the Shimla administration of bias against them. In an altercation involving a land dispute between two Hindu reformist groups—the Himalayan Brahmo Samaj and the Ram Krishna Mission—took an ugly turn on November 16, when alleged sharp verbal exchanges led to alleged stone-pelting and the local police filing charges against some members of the Ram Krishna Mission.
However, including a local youth, Lalit Verma, and the family of former advocate Vijay Pandit, the Ram Krishna Mission representatives, in a media conference this morning here stated that on November 16, 2024, at 5:30 PM, 100-150 people (referred to as Brahmo Samaj devotees) entered the temple of Ramakrishna Mission Ashram Shimla. “Swami ji was reciting the Sundarkand in the temple. After the evening aarti, those people introduced themselves as devotees and requested a parvachan,” they informed. Adding, “Thus, when it was time to close the temple at 8:30 PM, Swami ji requested them to leave, but those people did not listen and started saying that this temple is ours and started occupying the temple.” Then the CCTV installed in the temple was covered with cloth and after some time it was also broken. Whereafter the police were immediately informed,” they claimed.
Adding that the police reached the Ashram at around 9:30 AM, after which the local SDM and senior police officials also reached the Ashram. “Sadhus from the ashram requested the police to remove the rioters from the temple,” they stated. Alleging, “but no action was taken by the police. Even after repeated requests, no action was taken by the police. The devotees of Ramakrishna Mission Ashram requested the police to give them shelter in the temple, but the police stopped them,” they claimed.
Further, the people who had occupied the temple started abusing the sadhus and devotees of Ramakrishna Mission, and at around 1 AM, bouncers (professional goons) brought by the rioters (allegedly Brahmo Samaj) started attacking the devotees of Ramakrishna Mission from inside the temple with sticks and stones brought by them.
Adding that, “at 2 AM, the police let all those goons go under protection without identifying them, nor were they asked, what kind of puja was being performed in the temple at 1 AM. We suspect that the local police are in cahoots with the alleged land mafia,” alleged Ram Krishna Mission representatives.
On the other hand, Shimla police has maintained that the FIRs were filed based on evidence of stone-pelting and injuries sustained by police personnel and members of the Brahmo Samaj. The charges include assault on public servants, unlawful assembly, and causing disturbances at a place of worship under the Indian Penal Code. Noteworthy that seven people suffered injuries in this incidence including 3 police personal.
According to an earlier statement of the SP Shimla Sanjeev Gandhi, the issue was a sensitive one, as it involved religious sentiments, hence police and administration were present at the spot, trying to mediate and attempting to resolve the matter.
Meanwhile, in an earlier media note, Kumari Jyotika Sharma, while talking about the Himalayan Brahmo Samaj Shimla, had said that Lalit Verma and Swami Tanmahimananda of Ramakrishna Mission keep conspiring every day to usurp the property of the Brahmo Samaj Mandir and Himalayan Brahmo Samaj situated in Shimla. She alleged that the Suri family and Vijay Pandit together made fake trustees to usurp the property of the Himalayan Brahmo Samaj, who later started calling themselves the real trustees. These fake trustees had also filed a case in the district court to stop a conference being held in Shimla, which was dismissed by the Hon’ble Court on November 13.
Sharma even alleged that the former DGP Sanjay Kundu, while cooperating in the conspiracy of these people, filed false cases against our family.
So, as the situation remains tense, the local administration has been working to restore peace and order in the area.
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