Social activist Swami Agnivesh on Tuesday alleged that he was attacked by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad members at Pakur in Jharkhand. He was in Pakur to take part in an event in Littipara of the district.
“As soon as I came out of the venue, BJYM and ABVP activists attacked me without any provocation. They alleged that I was speaking against Hindus,” he told PTI.
“I thought Jharkhand was a peaceful state, but my views have changed after this incident,” he told.
Responding to the allegation, Jharkhand BJP spokesperson P Shahdeo said, “They weren’t workers of our party. We condemn this but his track record is such that this reaction doesn’t come as surprise. Pakur has recently been in news for religious conversion.”
A video of the alleged attack with a large crowd thrashing the social activist and his supporters was doing the rounds on social media.
Asked about the incident, Superintendent of Police, Shailendra Prasad Burnwal said he did not have any prior information about Agnivesh’s programme in the district.
Pakur sub-divisional police officer Ashok Kumar Singh said the guilty would not be spared.
This is not the first time, Swami Agnivesh has been attacked publicly. Earlier in 2011, Agnivesh was assaulted at a public meeting by Mahant Nityanand Das over his comments on Amarnath yatra.
Agnivesh had allegedly said that he “does not understand why people go for such yatras” and had termed the formation of the Shivlingam inside the Amarnath cave shrine a natural phenomenon.
(Hindustan Times)