Varanasi: Main Accused Who Tonsured Nepalese Man Still Absconding, One Arrested

Arun Pathak, who shaved the head of a Nepalese citizen in PM Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi, is still out of the custody of the UP police. Despite the passing of 48 hours, the arrest of Arun Pathak, the main accused in such a sensitive case, raises a lot of questions.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has so far arrested one of the accused Santosh Pandey. While shaving the head of a Nepali citizen, Santosh was making a video of it which was later uploaded by Arun Pathak on his Facebook handle. Varanasi police have named Arun Pathak, Santosh Pandey, Amit Dubey, Ashish Mishra, and Raju Yadav as accused in the case.

Nepal’s Ambassador to New Delhi Nilabar Acharya has spoken to UP CM Yogi Adityanath on the phone on the matter. He tweeted that CM has assured the safety of Nepalese citizens in the state.

Flash: Nepal Envoy to India @nilacharya speaks to CM of UP after a Nepali national was tonsured and forced chant anti Nepal slogans. Both sides agreed India Nepal ties should not be impacted with UP CM @myogiadityanath assuring safety of Nepali nationals in the state.

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) July 17, 2020

Politics has heated up on the issue in Nepal and opposition parties have launched a scathing attack on Nepal’s PM KP Sharma Oli. Former Deputy CM Upendra Yadav has alleged that Oli is directly responsible for the deepening gap in Indo-Nepal relations. At the same time, the video of Nepalese citizen is becoming increasingly viral in Nepal’s social media, and hatred is being instigated against Indian citizens.