Jammu, Aug 18:- “We are looking into the matter and will take up the issue with higher authorities,” Gupta said and claimed that police, at Anirudh’s instance, had seized “beef” from a shop in the town a few days earlier.
Police have registered an FIR against a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader in Doda district on charges of criminal trespass, intimidating members of a particular community and resorting to activities intended to breach peace.
Police said the VHP leader, identified as Anirudh Bhau, a class IV employee working in the Government Medical College Hospital, Doda, was released on a personal surety.
While Anirudh could not be contacted as his phone was switched off, VHP’s J&K president Rajesh Gupta described it as a “false case” and accused the “mafia involved in the sale of beef” of pressuring local police officers to register the FIR by gathering a crowd.
Meanwhile, residents in Doda alleged that the VHP leader along with some associates arrived in a vehicle in the town’s Bharat Road on the night of August 15 and started checking eating joints there. They first went to a shop selling momos and asked the shopkeeper whether he was using beef in them. On being told that he was using only chicken in the momos, they moved towards a bakery run by one Barkat Ali and started checking it alleging he was selling beef, the locals said.
As the owner and a few customers objected to their “unruly behaviour” and forcible entry into the bakery, Bhau and his associates allegedly started arguing with them.
In the meantime, other local people gathered and Bhau and his associates fled leaving behind their car. Later, people called the police who seized the vehicle. Later, Bhau was taken into custody and released on a personal surety by the SHO of Doda police station, sources said.
Barkat Ali, who lodged a complaint with the police, said the car was having a VHP flag on its bonnet.
On the intervening night of August 13-14, Bhau along with his associates allegedly broke open a shop in Doda town’s Nehru Chowk area claiming that the shopkeeper was selling beef. At that time, the shopkeeper was away in Jammu, local people said. Police visited the spot at the instance of Bhau and his associates, and seized some leftover pieces of mutton from there and sent it for clinical examination, local people said. The police took him into custody on August 15. On the same evening, he was let off by the local SHO on personal surety, sources said.
A senior police officer said that an FIR was registered against Bhau and investigation was underway.
