Religious Hindu leader, Kalicharan Maharaj was arrested on Thursday, 29 December by the Chhattisgarh Police in his neighboring state of Madhya Pradesh. An FIR was registered against Kalicharan Maharaj after he allegedly abused Mahatma Gandhi and made remarks against Islam at a ‘Dharma Sansad’. Police said he was being brought to Chhattisgarh, where he would be taken to a court.
According to senior officials, the search for his arrest was done by two different teams in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Raipur Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal said, “We found him 25 km from Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh. He had taken a rented room near Bageshwar Dham. He was arrested at 4 am and is being brought to Raipur, where he Hopes to reach. By evening.” Soon he will be produced in the court.
Kalicharan Maharaj was the guest at the Dharma Sansad held in Raipur on 25-26 December. After giving his speech, Congress party leader Pramod Dubey lodged a complaint against him. Another case was registered against him in the Akola district of Maharashtra.
On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra has criticized the way Chhattisgarh Police is running its campaign without informing the local police.
In response to this, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday said that the arrest of religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj was done as per procedure and no rule was violated by the state police.