The Uttar Pradesh police on Friday arrested four persons for allegedly composing and uploading a “hate song” on social media, which prescribes a place in the graveyard for those who do not chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’.
The video titled ‘Jo Na bole Jai Sri Ram, bhej do usko kabristan’ was widely shared on social media last week and the police had received many complaints against the makers.
The four arrested persons were identified as Rajesh Kumar Verma, owner of the Youtube channel Janta Musical and Pictures on which the video was uploaded, writers of the song Mukesh Pandey and Santosh Yadav, and Varun Upadhyay alias Varun Bahar, the singer seen in the video. While Verma was nabbed from the Aliganj area of Lucknow, the other three were arrested from their home district Gonda, police said.
Kalanidhi Naithani, Superintendent of Police, Lucknow, said the statements of the four were being recorded. “They are being questioned to find out if they had uploaded such hate songs on other social media platforms.”
In a video uploaded on his personal YouTube channel on July 24, Bahar appeals to “Hindu brothers, the Bajrang Dal and the Hindu Yuva Vahini” for their support. He also says that the song was not targeted against any caste or religion. “I sang this song for my religion, the religion I love,” he said.
