By IANS
Lucknow, March 11 (IANS) Three people have been arrested from Haraiya town of Basti district in eastern Uttar Pradesh after a TV report claimed that a CD containing derogatory remarks against Hindu gods and upper castes was being circulated in the state.
However, state’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Laljee Verma, who announced the arrests in the assembly Tuesday, said the government did not find any CD from the area.
“Even though the arrests have been made on the basis of a national TV channel report, we haven’t found anything incriminating against these people, who were neither in possession of the CDs nor did they have any equipment to prepare those CDs,” said the minister.
“We have come to know that a team of IBN-7 was in Haraiya town of Basti district where the CD was alleged to have been exhibited; I would not be surprised if it was their fabrication,” he added.
Shown on the channel late Monday night, the CD contained derogatory remarks against Hindu God Ram and Sita’s mother Janaki among others. It also condemned upper caste Hindus, particularly Brahmins and Thakurs.
The CD was alleged to be bearing the name of Ambedkar Boudhik Sangathan, a Basti-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) headed by the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party parliamentarian Lal Mani Prasad.
The TV report said the CD was “currently being circulated in parts of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh”.
The government has also ordered a probe into the case.