Char Dham Yatra: Uttarakhand police begin verification drive

The Uttarakhand police on Thursday launched a drive to 'verify' the antecedents of people who have come to the state over the past 10 years, a senior official said in Dehradun on Thursday.

The drive begins just days ahead of the Char Dham Yatra in the state.

It follows Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's announcement recently that a campaign will be conducted to verify details and antecedents of people coming from outside so that 'peace and social harmony' could be maintained in the state.

Dhami had said this in reply to a question on a demand to ban the entry of non-Hindus in Char Dham areas.

Over the next 10 days, the police will 'verify' information related to people who have come from outside the state over the past 10 years, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar said.

'Verification has been done earlier also. Antecedents of people from outside such as handcart pushers, labourers, professionals and businessmen have been checked in the past too,' he said.

This time, DGP Kumar said, this verification is being done by running a special campaign for 10 days so that it is completed before the start of the Char Dham Yatra.

The chief minister had said on Tuesday that during the Char Dham Yatra, the state government would ensure that pilgrims coming from outside the state are properly verified and elements likely to pose a threat to peace do not enter Uttarakhand .

This year's Char Dham Yatra will begin with the opening of the doors of the temples on May 3 on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya.

A record number of devotees are expected this year as there are no covid-induced restrictions on the pilgrimage.