NEW DELHI, 31 December 2021, (TON): Indian police arrested a Hindu religious leader for allegedly making a derogatory speech against India’s independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and praising his assassin.

Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu extremist during a prayer meeting in the Indian capital in 1948 because he was considered sympathetic toward Muslims during the partition of the Indian subcontinent by British colonialists in 1947 into India and Pakistan.

India news agency cited police officer Prashant Agrawal as saying “Kalicharan Maharaj was arrested in central Madhya Pradesh state on Thursday for allegedly promoting hatred between religious groups in a speech earlier this week.”

According to media reports, Maharaj said “Gandhi destroyed the country salutations to Nathuram Godse, who killed him.”

He will be formally charged in court after the police complete an investigation. If convicted, he can be jailed for up to five years.

Attacks by Hindu hard-liners against Muslims and other minorities have intensified after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, and won a landslide reelection in 2019.