Art of shivving? 'Supporters' of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar threaten to kill man who complained against World Culture Festival

The man who dared to take on the might of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been given a chilling warning: Stop opposing the World Culture Festival being organised by the Art of Living Foundation or face dire consequences. Vimlendu Jha, who had filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the festival being conducted on the banks of the Yamuna River, claimed to have received death threats from supporters of the foundation. [caption id=“attachment_2664720” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Screen grab from the video Jha posted on his Facebook page.[/caption] Talking to the Indian Express, Jha said the men barged into the courtroom and disrupted the NGT hearing on Tuesday. “The judge even chided them for this act. One of the supporters threatened me inside the court room and said ‘Tum bacche ho abhi, maar denge tumko (You are a kid, we will kill you).” Jha, activist and founder of Swechha, a Delhi-based organisation working for the environment, shared a video which captured two men openly threatening Jha, calling him “anti-national”, “terrorist” and a “CIA agent”. The video clearly shows the two men threatening to kill him “just like they killed others”. One of them, Swami Omjee of the fringe group Hindu Sena, is clearly heard saying, “There are many people out there to take care of traitors like you.”  The Quint that had recorded the video, said the Art of Living had denied all association with Swami Omjee, refusing to even know who he was. Omjee, who has contested elections from the capital in the past, claims to have campaigned for BJP and Narendra Modi. And he has a history of appearing on camera and threatening to kill people. He once threatened to kill Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying they will do so just like they “killed Mahatma Gandhi”.