Delhi Police on Sunday arrested four men claiming to be members of the right-wing Hindu Raksha Dal for allegedly assaulting students and pushing and hitting women on Delhi's DDU Marg during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on October 10.
The arrests came a day after a purported video of the incident went viral on social media, showing the men assaulting young students and physically manhandling women on a stretch of DDU Marg under the jurisdiction of the Kamla Market police station. The footage also showed a police personnel present at the spot as the incident occurred, amid widespread detentions during the protest over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Accused identified
The accused have been identified as Raman Saini, 50, Vivekanand alias Vivek, 32, Kapil Kumar, 27, and Ravinder Singh alias Govind Hindu, 35, a senior police officer said. According to The Print, all four are residents of Delhi-NCR and are linked to the Bhupendra Tomar-led faction of the Hindu Raksha Dal, whose leader Pinki Chaudhary claimed the men were his workers.
Police said no formal complaint had been received in connection with the incident, but the force acted on its own after the video came to its notice and confidential inputs suggested the men could try to leave the Delhi-NCR region to evade action. Taking suo motu cognisance, police traced and arrested the four men.
Broader crackdown under scrutiny
The arrests followed reports of attacks on protesters and journalists at several Delhi locations, including Connaught Place and near the MCD Civic Centre, during Saturday's protest. The demonstrations seeking Kumar's resignation over alleged SIR irregularities drew thousands of detentions, and the Supreme Court had held a special Sunday sitting directing that peaceful, unarmed protesters must not be detained except in accordance with law.
Pinki Chaudhary, also known as Bhupendra Tomar and associated with the Hindu Raksha Dal, claimed the four men were his workers, saying the group would keep acting "relentlessly."
Sources:
- NDTV: 4 Men Claiming To Be From Hindu Raksha Dal Arrested For Assaulting CJP Protesters
- The Print: Delhi Police arrests 4 members of fringe Hindu Right-wing group for assaulting protesters
The arrests came a day after a purported video of the incident went viral on social media, showing the men assaulting young students and physically manhandling women on a stretch of DDU Marg under the jurisdiction of the Kamla Market police station. The footage also showed a police personnel present at the spot as the incident occurred, amid widespread detentions during the protest over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Accused identified
The accused have been identified as Raman Saini, 50, Vivekanand alias Vivek, 32, Kapil Kumar, 27, and Ravinder Singh alias Govind Hindu, 35, a senior police officer said. According to The Print, all four are residents of Delhi-NCR and are linked to the Bhupendra Tomar-led faction of the Hindu Raksha Dal, whose leader Pinki Chaudhary claimed the men were his workers.
Police said no formal complaint had been received in connection with the incident, but the force acted on its own after the video came to its notice and confidential inputs suggested the men could try to leave the Delhi-NCR region to evade action. Taking suo motu cognisance, police traced and arrested the four men.
Broader crackdown under scrutiny
The arrests followed reports of attacks on protesters and journalists at several Delhi locations, including Connaught Place and near the MCD Civic Centre, during Saturday's protest. The demonstrations seeking Kumar's resignation over alleged SIR irregularities drew thousands of detentions, and the Supreme Court had held a special Sunday sitting directing that peaceful, unarmed protesters must not be detained except in accordance with law.
Pinki Chaudhary, also known as Bhupendra Tomar and associated with the Hindu Raksha Dal, claimed the four men were his workers, saying the group would keep acting "relentlessly."
Sources:
- NDTV: 4 Men Claiming To Be From Hindu Raksha Dal Arrested For Assaulting CJP Protesters
- The Print: Delhi Police arrests 4 members of fringe Hindu Right-wing group for assaulting protesters
