PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Police arrested 29 individuals posing as ascetics in Dehradun on Monday under Operation Kalnemi that included 20 individuals from other states.
The Dehradun senior superintendent of police Ajai Sing said that the police teams conducted coordinated checks in multiple police station areas and detained individuals dressed as ascetics who were allegedly misleading people, especially women and youth, with false claims of resolving personal or domestic issues through spiritual or ritualistic practices.
He said that among those arrested was a man named Kari Abdul Rehman, who was operating in the Vikasnagar area. He allegedly instilled fear of supernatural consequences in people and offered protection through rituals and prayers, charging them for it. Police arrested him and initiated legal proceedings. Singh said that in a separate case, Premnagar police raided an illegal roadside clinic operated by a couple from Roshnabad, Haridwar.
The couple was selling unlicensed herbal medicines and claiming to provide guaranteed cures for illnesses. They failed to present any supporting documents related to the medicines or their practice. Police arrested both individuals and shut down the encroached premises where the clinic was being run.
Singh said that with these arrests, the number of fake ascetics held in the past four days by Dehradun police has reached 111. He said that police will continue to identify and detain such individuals under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The SSP stated that action will be taken against any person involved in fraudulent religious activity, regardless of their religion or background.
