Delhi-based YouTuber Gaurav Sharma, who was arrested a few months ago on animal cruelty charges after he made his dog fly using helium-filled balloons, has run into fresh legal trouble by entering ‘Nidhivan Raj’ a Krishna temple in Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura at night and recording a video there.
Nobody is allowed to enter ‘Nidhivan Raj’ at night because it is popularly believed that Lord Krishna and Radha perform ‘raslila’ there at that time. On the night of November 6, Sharma, whose YouTube channel ‘Gauravzone’ has over four million subscribers, and his associates allegedly entered the premises of the temple by the scaling and recorded a video of the area. It is being said that the videographers entered the holy place “with their shoes on”.
Sharma shared the video on his YouTube channel on November 9, following which a priest lodged a complaint in connection with the matter. Based on the complaint, a case was registered under Sections 295 (destruction, damage or defilement of a place of worship or an object held sacred, with intent to insult the religion of a class of persons) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66 of the IT Act in Vrindavan. After learning about the FIR, Sharma deleted the video.
On Saturday, Sharma was picked up by the Mathura Police from his residence in Delhi and brought to Vrindavan. On Sunday, Sharma was produced in a local court and sent to 14-day judicial custody, The Times of India reported.
Gaurav confessed before the police that he entered the temple premises at night and filmed the area. “I had visited my uncle’s place in Mathura on November 6. My cousin Prashant told me that there is a place in Vrindavan, where no one enters at night, as it is believed that misfortune strikes those who do so. I decided to make a video of the area and arrived at the Nidhivan around midnight with my cousin and friends and after shooting the video for 15-20 minutes, we came out,” TOI quoted the YouTuber as saying.
A few months ago, Sharma was arrested by the Delhi Police after he uploaded a video showing his pet dog floating in the air with helium gas-filled balloons tied to its upper body. He was booked under Section 11(1)(D) Prevention to Cruelty to Animal Act, Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code and the Disaster Management Act.