YouTuber booked for insulting BR Ambedkar, humiliating SCs and STs

Navi Mumbai: The Koparkhairane police on Saturday registered a case against content creator Om Yadav for allegedly championing untouchability, humiliating people from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and disrespecting Dalit icon Dr BR Ambedkar.
The FIR was registered following a complaint filed by Vikrant Chikane, a Ghansoli resident, after he watched a video posted by Yadav on his YouTube channel, The Om Yadav Show, which has 189,000 subscribers. The complaint stated that Yadav demeaned the Dalit community in the video and justified practices such as untouchability.
“I was completely shaken after seeing the content of the video. He has not only tried to create enmity and rift between communities but has also used the most debased language for great leaders like Babasaheb Ambedkar. Justifying evil practices like untouchability is unpardonable and needs to be dealt with serious consequences,” said Chikane, a social activist.
Chikane received the video on WhatsApp from his friend and lawyer Swapnil Jagtap on August 30. Jagtap said that he too was “horrified” after watching the video, where Yadav is “openly stating that the evil practice of untouchability and caste discrimination was absolutely correct, as scheduled castes and scheduled tribes communities deserved that kind of treatment”.
In the FIR, Yadav has been charged with intentionally humiliating people from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in public, promoting hatred among communities, and disrespecting a person of high esteem from the community. The case was registered under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Protection of Civil Rights Act and the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Yadav, who started his YouTube channel in 2017, talks about social and political issues while also championing the cause of the Yadav community. “He claims to have no fear about the legal consequences for his statement and has challenged the law enforcement agencies to do whatever they liked,” said Jagtap, who practices in the Bombay high court.
Assistant commissioner of police Yogesh Gawade is investigating the case.