Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan and other Opposition members protest over alleged Ram temple donation theft, outside Parliament on Friday. (PTI Photo)A case was registered in Varanasi on Saturday against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav and Samajwadi Party’s Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad for allegedly “insulting Sanatan Dharma and religious sentiments of Hindus” during a protest outside Parliament a day before.On Friday, Yadav, clad in saffron clothes, staged a skit on the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya outside the House during the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament, in which Gandhi also made a brief appearance.In the act, Gandhi is seen depositing cash in a donation box which Yadav, ostensibly playing a priest, flees with before being caught.Also Read | Betrayal of faith: Pappu Yadav slams Govt over temple donation ‘theft’Prasad also participated in the skit, according to the FIR filed at Varanasi’s Kotwali police station on the complaint of Jagadguru Balak Devacharya, head of the Patalpuri Math in Narharpura, Varanasi, alleging the incident had hurt the religious sentiments of crores of Hindus.Confirming filing of the FIR, Varanasi Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vijay Pratap Singh said an investigation into the matter would start soon.The case was registered under Sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 302 (uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings of any person) and 3(5) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).When contacted, Devacharya, the complainant, said, “I lodged a police complaint because the religious sentiments of Hindus were hurt and our revered religious symbols were publicly mocked by them.”Story continues below this adAccording to police, the complainant alleged the demonstration was held on the Parliament premises with an apparent objective of ensuring wide media coverage and to attract nationwide attention.Saffron robes, the appearance of Hindu saints and the tradition of asceticism (sanyas) are regarded as extremely sacred and venerable within the Sanatan Dharma and that these were used in a public political demonstration, the complainant further claimed.The donations offered by devotees at the Ram Temple are a sacred symbol of their reverence, faith, devotion and religious dedication, and these too were made a subject of the demonstration, he stated.The act, prima facie, amounted to a public mockery and disrespect of the Hindu saint tradition, Lord Ram, and the religious faith of devotees, he said, adding that the demonstration did not appear to be spontaneous, but preplanned and coordinated with predetermined roles assigned to every participant.Story continues below this adDescribing himself as a distinguished “dharmacharya” (religious teacher) of Sanatan Dharma and a spiritual guide of the Hindu community, he claimed that by making religious symbols and matters connected with faith a medium of a political demonstration, a prima facie case was made out of grievous hurt caused to the religious sentiments of crores of Hindus.Such a public demonstration had the potential to create religious discontent, tension and hostility within society, and could adversely affect public peace and social harmony, he further stated.Following the broadcast of the incident, several saints, devotees and followers from across the country expressed “deep anger and distress” before him, he claimed, calling for an examination of the incident in the light of the available video footage, news broadcasts and other electronic evidence.