New Delhi: Delhi Police Sunday arrested four men seen assaulting protesters gathering for the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP’s) Jantar Mantar 2.0 agitation Saturday. Videos of the men, all associated with a faction of a fringe Hindu Right-wing group called Hindu Raksha Dal, went viral Saturday, and served to deepen the deep public resentment over the government’s massive operation to thwart the planned protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The four men have been identified as Raman Saini (50), Vivekanand (32), Kapil Kumar (27), and Ravinder Singh alias Govind Hindu. All of them are residents of Delhi-NCR and linked to the Bhupendra Tomar-led faction of the Hindu Raksha Dal. Tomar is also known as Pinki Chaudhary.
Through clues gleaned from the videos and social media posts, the Delhi Police traced the identities and locations of the four accused and arrested them.
“Taking suo motu cognisance of a video circulating on social media showing four men allegedly assaulting a male protester, Delhi Police, PS Kamla Market, acted promptly and initiated legal proceedings,” a Delhi Police spokesperson said.
Hindu Raksha Dal boasts about it
The episode of assault, which took place Saturday afternoon at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, was captured in videos and acknowledged by Chaudhary on social media.
“These are my workers from the Hindu Raksha Dal—an organisation that delivers on its promises. The Hindu Raksha Dal possesses the power to set the minds of any ‘cockroaches’ straight, and it will continue to do so relentlessly,” Chaudhary said on X.
On Saturday, Chaudhary had posted several videos showing members and supporters of his outfit arguing with and confronting the protesters gathered in various pockets of central Delhi. When the CJP leadership had issued the call for the protest, he had issued threats that he would be present at Jantar Mantar. However, he was detained at his residence in UP’s Ghaziabad.
One of the videos of the assaults also featured Delhi Police personnel, leading to allegations that the assaulters had the police’s support.
“BJP-RSS goons beating a young girl in the presence of Delhi Police, with an officer seemingly guiding them to stop the recording. Why is Delhi Police helping goons attack peaceful protestors instead of protecting them? Who gave them this free hand?” the CJP said in a statement on X.
Edited by Sunanda Ranjan