Senior UP administrative official resigns in protest against ‘humiliation’ of Hindu seer Swami Avimukteshwaranand

Lucknow: In a development which could trigger unease within the BJP and the state government, a senior state administrative service official on Monday resigned from the service in protest against alleged ‘humiliation’ of prominent Hindu seer Swami Avimukteshwaranand, the Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth at the ongoing ‘Magh Mela’ (an annual ritual on the bank of the Ganga in Prayagraj).

UP provincial service officer and City Magistrate at Bareilly, Alankar Agnihotri, in his resignation letter, also mentioned the UGC’s ‘Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Regulations 2026 as one of the reasons for his resignation.

Agnihotri said in his letter that the way the disciples, who included young boys and old men, of the Shankaracharya were beaten by the cops had hurt his sentiments. ‘’They were dragged by their shikha (choti, which, for the Brahmins and other Hindus, is a sacred tuft of hair kept at the crown of the head symbolizing devotion and marking adherence to Vedic traditions), which was very humiliating,’’ he said.

Agnihotri, who hailed from the Brahmin community, said that it was a very serious and concerning matter and it showed that the administration and the government were ‘anti-brahmin’. ‘’Sadly those who claim to be the representative of the Brahmins are silent,’’ he added.

He also slammed the BJP over the incident.

The official also criticized the new UGC Regulation and said that it would allow ‘exploitation’ of the students from the general category.

Avimukteshawrananda has been on a ‘dharna’ outside his Camp in the ‘Mela’ after he was prevented from proceeding toward Ganga for the sacred dip on the occasion of ‘Mauni Amavsya’ a few days back.

While chief minister Yogi Adityanath had criticized him in a veiled manner, his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya slammed the administration for ‘misbehaving’ with the seer.