A Kochi resident and Congress party office-bearer on Monday lodged a complaint with the police after his hands were sprayed with gaumutra (cow urine) instead of a hand sanitiser by staff manning the gates of ISKCON temple in Juhu.
Raju P. Nair, general secretary, district Congress committee, Ernakulam, in a letter to Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh, sought filing of a criminal case against the temple authorities. He said the incident took place on Sunday, when he and a friend visited Govinda’s Restaurant in the temple complex. Mr. Nair, who first tweeted about the incident on Sunday night, in his complaint said it was a threat to the public as a whole since it was in violation of the COVID-19 protocol.
“We walked into the compound and the security asked us to go through the check. Eventhough we told them that we are going to the restaurant and not temple, we didn’t object to the frisking. After my friend was frisked and a lotion was sprayed on his hands, I went through the same. I had extended my hands as a responsible person appreciating sanitising the hands in this emergency situation where the pandemic COVID19 is being spread. However, once they sprayed using a normal sprayer commonly used in barber shops and not clinically, I smelled my hands and it had a weird smell,” the complaint said.
Mr. Nair’s complaint says he asked the security if they sprayed cow urine on his hands, and they said it was. “I took objection that they should have told me that it is cow urine and should not have done so without my consent. Even an elderly lady who looked like ISKCON follower also told them they should not have done without consent,” it reads.
Being a Kochi resident, Mr. Nair could not stay back in Mumbai for the proceedings and has authorised advocate Mathew Antony to represent him. “This is a violation of human rights and criminal to spray animal waste on someone. I take strong objection to this since this is against my scientific temper and an attack on my self-respect. This is also a violation of the protocol declared by the government in dealing with the pandemic COVID19 and hence puts normal people’s life at risk and hence I view this as a social issue that affects hundreds of people who visit there,” his complaint said.
Temple council member Sura Das said anyone entering the premises was given soap-based sanitisers. “Ayurveda has shown that gaumutra is of the finest and among the best of sanitisers and we sell it at our store. There are all sorts of people coming to our movement and so we cannot be particular about using it,” he said.
