Hyderabad seer banished for 6 months

Hyderabad Police on Wednesday banished a Hindu religious leader from the city for six months for allegedly making provocative statements against other communities.

Sri Peetham Swami Paripoornananda, who was under house arrest for the last two days, was picked up by police early on Wednesday and was taken out of the city.

Sources said he would be dropped at his ashram in Kakinada town in Andhra Pradesh.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar issued the order under Telangana Prevention of Anti-Social and Hazardous Activities Act, 1980.

The move came two days after Telangana Police banished film critic Kathi Mahesh from Hyderabad for six months for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus through his alleged derogatory comments on Lord Ram and Sita.

The same day police had placed Swami Paripoornanda, who was staying at a real-estate businessman's house in posh Jubliee Hills, under house arrest as he had planned to launch a 'Darmika Chaitanya Yatra' to protest against Mahesh's comments.

The seer had announced the three-day yatra from the Shiva Temple in Bodduppal on the outskirts of Hyderabad to Yadadri.

Several leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including former Union Minister and MP Bandaru Dattatreya and local legislator Chintala Ramachandra Reddy, had called on him on Tuesday.

Leaders of BJP, Vishva Hindu Parishad and other organisations had taken exception to the police action.

Police said the Swami, who started an organisation 'Rashtriya Hindu Sena' in November 2017, made provocative remarks at several meetings in Telangana.

--IANS

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