Sahitya Akademi awardee Datta Damodar Naik booked for ‘hurting religious sentiments’ in Goa

The Goa Police on Monday booked writer and Sahitya Akademi awardee Datta Damodar Naik on charges of hurting religious sentiments, The Indian Express reported.

The first information report was filed based on complaints alleging that the 70-year-old, who is also a businessperson, had called temple priests as “looters” in a recent interview.

The newspaper quoted Naik as saying that he is a “staunch atheist” and not scared by the case against him.

A complaint was registered against Naik at the Canacona police station by Satish Bhat. He alleged that in an interview to a local news channel, Naik had made the allegedly derogatory remarks about the Shree Samsthan Gokarn Partagali Jeevottam Math. The Hindu monastic temple is located in Partagali, South Goa.

“In our culture, we respect everyone’s opinion, whether someone is an atheist or not,” Bhat told The Indian Express. “But through these remarks, he has deliberately hurt religious sentiments and insulted our culture.”

Another complaint was filed at the Panaji police station on Saturday by a person associated with the Gomantak Mandir Mahasangh and Religious Institutions Federation.

Naik had committed a grave offence by calling the priests as “looters”, the complainant alleged.

“While belief in God is a personal matter, making such public statements branding priests, temples and monasteries as looters is an offence under the law as...

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