The incident took place at the Parade Ground, barely a kilometre away from the holy confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, where four car-borne Christian missionaries were distributing pamphlets propagating their faith. "When the news reached the VHP's camp situated nearby, a volunteer was sent to fetch a copy of the pamphlet and to our horror we found all sorts blasphemous things about Hinduism," senior VHP leader Manoj Srivastava said. "We thereafter rushed and caught hold of the missionaries and gave them a good thrashing before handing them over to police," he said.
However, Circle Officer, Magh Mela, Rajesh Kumar said that no case was registered against the missionaries, who were let off after a warning "as the offence was not of a grave nature and the episode also involved women". Meanwhile, the VHP is determined to step up pressure on the Mela administration for taking stern action against the missionaries. "We demand that the missionaries be booked under NSA. Their pamphlets had many derogatory references to the Ganga, the river which is considered holy by millions of Hindus world over. They were audacious enough to distribute such literature at the Magh Mela, of which taking a holy dip in the Ganga is an integral part," Srivastava said.
