'Ladka humari taraf hoga': Dharma sansad participants seen laughing with Haridwar cop

A screenshot of the video. Pic/ Ashutosh Bhardwaj`s Twitter

The Hindu religious leaders of a "dharma sansad" or religious assembly in Uttarakhand's Haridwar, where they made open calls for genocide and use of weapons against Muslims, were seen in a video laughing with a police officer, who they said will be "on our side".

As per an NDTV report, five of the event participants on Monday went to Haridwar police station to file a first information report (FIR) against Muslim clerics, who they said, "have been conspiring against Hindus and should be punished."

"No FIR was filed though," the police said.

A video of the meeting with the police officer, Rakesh Kathait, shows several participants of the controversial event - Hindu Raksha Sena's Prabodhanand Giri, who organised the "dharma sansad"; religious leader Yati Narasimhanand, Pooja Shakun Pandey aka "Sadhvi Annapurna"; Anand Swaroop, head of a body named Shankaracharya Parishad, and Waseem Rizwi alias Jitendra Narayan. Three of them have been named in a FIR filed by the Uttarakhand Police in the Haridwar hate speech case.

"You should send a message that you are not biased," Pooja Shakun Pandey aka "Sadhvi Annapurna" says in the video, pointing at the police officer who is holding a copy of their complaint against the clerics. "You are a public officer and you should treat everyone equally. That is what we expect from you. May you always win," she says.

Yati Narasimhanand, who is standing at the side, says, "Why unbiased? Ladka humari taraf hoga (he will be on our side)."

Everyone in the room burst out laughing, while the police officer smiles and nods sideways.

Clips from the Haridwar event -- held from December 17 to 20 -- were circulated on social media and drew sharp criticism from former military chiefs, activists and even international tennis legend Martina Navratilova.