Three arrested in UP for placing 'Jai Sree Ram' flag on mosque

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh police arrested three men in Shahjahanpur after they allegedly removed a flag from a mosque and replaced it with a saffron one on Tuesday, The Indian Express reported.

The three accused, identified as Ankit Katheria, Rohit Joshi, and Rohit Saxena- all aged 20- committed the crime at the Ramchandra Mission police station jurisdiction in the Lalbagh area. Police said that one more accomplice, Pankaj Saxena, went absconding.

According to Ramchandra Mission police station in-charge CP Shukla, the incident happened at 8 pm Tuesday, when three men climbed the top of a mosque and replaced a green flag with a saffron one with Jai Shri Ram written on it.

Based on a complaint submitted by a local resident, Faizullah, a case has been registered, he said. The three arrested were sent to judicial custody, and further action is being taken. The situation in the neighbourhood is normal, he said.

Police registered an FIR under Section 295 (destroying, damaging, or defiling a place of worship or sacred object to insult the religion of any class of persons) of the Indian Penal Code.

The same district reported another incident in which four men from a minority community and some unidentified people allegedly desecrated a flag which was saffron in colour, and Jai Sri Ram was written on it. The incident happened in Katra police station jurisdiction.

According to Katra Station House Officer Gaurav Tyagi, they have filed a case, but the initial probe into the incident suggests that the four accused men were framed.