Overview
- Police and the temple trustee say about 30–40 people forced their way into the Ram Mandir in Aarey on Saturday evening, threatened the lone security guard, performed an aarti and damaged a signboard and a flex banner.
- Investigators say the gathering followed social‑media posts allegedly circulated by Amit Pathak on behalf of groups called Hindu Rakshak Sena and Sakal Hindu Samaj that invited people for a Hanuman Chalisa and Maha Aarti.
- Aarey police registered an FIR on Sunday under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for criminal intimidation, mischief, public nuisance and deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings, and have named 15 people in the case.
- Two people have been arrested so far, including Amit Pathak, and officers are reviewing the temple’s CCTV and the alleged social‑media content as the probe continues.
- The trustee who filed the complaint says the episode ties to an ongoing local dispute and earlier defamatory posts targeting trust members, a backdrop that police say they are also examining as they assess wider tensions and possible property or access claims.