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Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh): On March 24, days after the arrest followed by bail of four Muslim men in Uttar Pradesh’s Shravasti district for allegedly cooking and eating a non-vegetarian meal near the Sonpathri Ashram during an Iftar party, local BJP Yuva Morcha president Hariom Tiwari wrote a letter to the superintendent of police.

“Prima facie this incident seems like a planned conspiracy,” Tiwari claimed in the letter.

The letter, a copy of which was seen by The Wire, further alleged, “There is also an apprehension that this incident may be related to assessing the security arrangements of the sensitive border area or could be linked to some form of espionage activity.”

On March 24 morning, Tiwari along with a group of supporters had first met Shravasti’s district magistrate, Ashwini Kumar Pandey, which was followed by another interaction with the superintendent of police, Rahul Bhati.

“I was assured that strict action will be taken,” Tiwari told The Wire while talking about his meetings with the officials. Tiwari had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2010 and has been the district-level Yuva Morcha president since 2021.

“I had gone to the SP’s office at 10 am and as per my information arrests took place between 1-2 pm,” said Tiwari.

The letter by BJP Yuva Morcha president to the SP.

Six Muslim men were arrested by the Shravasti Police by late afternoon that day. Those arrested included Shravasti residents Jamal Ahmed, Irfan Ahmed and Sufiyan, and Shakir, Sheru Ahmed and Shamshad Ali from Bahraich district.

Two of these men – Jamal Ahmed and Irfan Ahmed – had been granted bail by the SDM Court just days earlier, on March 20, in connection with the same Iftar party case.

On March 19, two FIRs were registered at Shravasti’s Sirsiya police station.

The first FIR was registered at 10:15 pm on behalf of Maharaj Harisharnanand, a priest at the Sonpathri Ashram.

Nestled in the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary, which stretches across a 452 square km area in Shravasti, Balrampur and Gonda districts, the Sonpathri Ashram has a Shiva temple in its premises.

In his complaint to the police, Harisharnanand said, “My disciple Tirth Ram first informed me about an Iftar party near the water nullah close to the temple.”

The area, close to the India-Nepal border, has several nullahs or water streams coming down from the Himalayan mountain range.

“When I reached the spot, I saw Mohd Azam, Immi Bhai, Zahir and 15-20 other persons having a non-veg meal on plates and throwing the leftover meat and bones in the same water which is used for washing idols inside the temple, as well as for our own cooking and drinking purposes,” Harisharnanand’s complaint further noted.

“I’m really offended by this and my religious feelings have been hurt,” Harisharnanand, a priest at the Sonpathri Ashram since 1987, continued in his complaint.

Mohd Azam, Immi Bhai alias Imran Ahmed, Zahir Khan and 15-20 unknown persons were thus booked under Section 196 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 for........

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