Men accused of mocking worship of Hindu Goddess Kali attacked by lawyers at Jammu court

Four men accused of mocking religious practices associated with the Hindu Goddess Kali in a video that went viral were allegedly attacked inside a courtroom in Jammu by a group of lawyers today.

The accused men were earlier granted interim bail in the sensitive case. They had appeared today before the trial court in compliance with earlier directives. Judge Jyoti Bhagat was slated to consider whether their interim bail should be made absolute when the assault took place.

According to eyewitness accounts, a group of lawyers attacked them inside the courtroom, leading to visible injuries and blood spilling onto the courtroom floor.

The presiding judge immediately left the courtroom amid the chaos, and the injured accused were subsequently rescued from the scene.

The matter concerns a video that reportedly shows some individuals mocking religious practices associated with Goddess Kali.

The video led President of Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, Rakesh Bajrangi, to file a complaint that the video hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community. A second criminal complaint was later filed by Dilawar Singh of the Yuva Rajput Sabha.

Four suspects, namely Mohd Arif, Shahid, Younus, and Imran were arrested in the case between March 5 and March 6. On March 8, a fifth accused, Asif, was arrested. Asif stands accused of recording the video.

The accused men were booked by the Satwari Police under Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

Four of the accused, namely Arif, Shahid, Younus, and Imran, were later granted interim bail on March 16, on various conditions.