BHOPAL: A large police deployment and four layers of metal barricades kept two rival groups apart in Chhatarpur district on Friday, preventing a clash over remarks by Bageshwar Dham head priest Dhirendra Shastri, popularly known as Baba Bageshwar, about Lord Ram and Lord Krishna.
The protest was called by the Yadav Mahasabha, whose members were angered by what Shastri reportedly said. Followers of the Bageshwar Dham shrine gathered in opposition.
The confrontation took place on the road outside Chhatarpur railway station, a short distance from the national highway that leads to the shrine, about 38 km away.
The protesters included Chhatarpur district Samajwadi Party chief Kapur Singh Yadav. They carried yellow flags and shouted “Jai Yadav, Jai Madhav” along with slogans against Shastri. The call for the protest outside the shrine had come mainly from Damodar Yadav, a leader of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram).
Bageshwar Dham’s followers carried saffron flags and shouted slogans against the Yadav Mahasabha and Damodar Yadav. Both groups were seen holding lathis and bamboo sticks.
More than 500 police personnel and the barricades kept most people on either side from reaching each other.
Chhatarpur Superintendent of Police Rajat Saklecha said that 80 people from the Yadav Mahasabha side broke through the barricades despite police instructions. They were taken into custody and released a few hours later.
On October 29, a video of Shastri began to circulate on social media. In it, he reportedly compared the appearance and character of Ram and Krishna. He described Ram as straight and Krishna as crooked, a reference that many devotees found disrespectful.
He is said to have pointed to Krishna’s traditional three-bend pose, known as Tribhanga, and to have contrasted it with Ram’s upright stance. He also compared Krishna’s flute with Ram’s bow and arrow, suggesting that playing the flute is a pastime while wielding the bow is not.
The remarks drew widespread criticism, particularly from Yadavs, who revere Krishna. Opposition parties have also condemned them.