New Delhi: With a video of self-proclaimed Hindutva leader Ragini Tiwari threatening to turn the ongoing farmers’ protest into “another Jafrabad” going viral since 12 December, social media has been flooded with posts demanding action against her.
Jafrabad in North-East Delhi had become the epicentre of riots between Hindus and Muslims, which killed at least 53 people in February, after anti-CAA protesters started an agitation. Tiwari now claims she had cleared out the protesters there.
While the police said they are looking into the matter, no action has been taken yet.
In her video, Tiwari said if the protest sites at Singhu and Tikri borders of the national capital aren’t vacated by 16 December, she would do it herself because she is not “Gandhi’s monkey”.
She alleged that there is a conspiracy behind the protests, which started in the last week of November against the Narendra Modi government seeking repeal of three new farm laws. The protesters are blocking various entry points into the capital to free “anti-nationals like Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid”, said Tiwari.
“We cannot become Gandhi’s monkeys and watch such a conspiracy blindly. We were denied Chhath puja celebrations due to Covid-19 but there is no corona (threat) when farmers are protesting. I am not Gandhi’s monkey woman,” she said in the video.
“If the government doesn’t get rid of the farmers’ protest by 16 December, then on 17 February, Ragini Tiwari will create another Jafrabad and again clear the roads. Whatever happens, the Centre, the state government and the Delhi Police will be responsible. My sisters get ready… Nationalists, come out and support me,” the 48-year-old said.
On Sunday, amid calls to arrest Tiwari, DCP Northeast said on Twitter: “SHO/Jafrabad has been directed to take necessary action”.
SHO/Jafrabad has been directed to take necessary action.
— DCP North East Delhi (@DCPNEastDelhi) December 13, 2020
Jafrabad SHO Rajeev Bhardwaj, however, refused to speak on the matter.
While no official complaint has been lodged against her, experts said Tiwari can be booked for criminal intimidation, or creating enmity between religious communities under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the content of her video that’s in public domain.
The ‘Jafrabad’ reference
This isn’t the first time that Tiwari has made headlines with her threats.
On 22 February this year, anti-CAA protesters had started an agitation in the middle of streets in Delhi’s Jafrabad. The next day, BJP leader Kapil Mishra had threatened that if the police failed to clear out the protesters from the site, he and his supporters would do so.
On the same day, in a Facebook live video shot near Delhi’s Maujpur, self-styled ‘protector of Sanatana dharma’ Tiwari had said — “Enough attacks on Sanatana (Hinduism). We won’t tolerate such attacks anymore. Hindus, come out. Die or kill. Rest shall be seen later. If your blood hasn’t boiled even now, it’s not blood but it is water.”
Riots broke out in N-E Delhi the following day.
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Who is Ragini Tiwari?
According to Ragini Tiwari alias Janki Behen, who lives in Delhi and is from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, she doesn’t belong to any political party and is just a “housewife” whose husband is in “service”.
Speaking to ThePrint, Tiwari said, “She has cleared the roads once and if anti-national activities are going on in the guise of protest and government isn’t doing about it then she will once again clear the roads like she did before.”
The reference was to clear out the Jafrabad protest site — a claim she made in her new video as well.
“I have said in the video that we will not tolerate anti-national talks and activities in the guise of farmers’ protest. I have nothing to do with farmers but they are raising slogans for traitors like Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and pro-Khalistan slogans. Some are even raising slogans of ‘Imran Khan Zindabad’. This will not be tolerated,” Tiwari said.
Speaking about her reference to Jafrabad, Tiwari said, “Everyone knows what we did in Jafrabad. Just like that, if farmers are working their will, we will also do ours.”
She added: “They can protest at Ramlila Maidan and Jantar Mantar but they can’t be allowed to sit and protest anywhere and everywhere they want to.”
Stating that India is “the place of Sanatana dharma”, Tiwari said: “My religion can never be attacked. It’s been here since thousands of years. Saints and sages have formed Bharat. Some have an agenda to diminish it but one has to remember that there is only one religion — Sanatana.”
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What police and experts say
With her latest video having gone viral, many have asked for Tiwari’s arrest over the Jafrabad reference.
When ThePrint asked Jafrabad SHO Rajeev Bhardwaj if an FIR has been registered against Tiwari, he said he wasn’t “authorised to comment” on the matter, and refused to divulge any more information.
Devesh Mahla, Additional DCP (Northeast), Delhi Police, said, “We have to verify and fact check what all she said, if at all Tiwari has done it or will do it. We have to find out what her involvement in the Delhi riots case and will then lodge FIR if any criminal act emerges. Everything isn’t punishable but investigation is on and then we will take legal action.”
Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, however, said the matter needs to be taken into consideration to avoid any breach of peace.
“Tiwari’s statements shouldn’t be ignored as they portend to possibility of breach of peace, law & order,” the retired IPS officer said.
According to Supreme Court advocate (criminal law) Shivam Singh, these videos fall within the scope of Section 153A and Section 506. “The speaker is insinuating towards creating a situation that mirrors a previous riot (Jaffarabad, Delhi 2020). The attempt is to warn people to behave in a particular manner and failure would result in physical injury like caused in a previous riot,” he said.
“The police is duty bound to register a FIR under Section 154, CrPC (Section 154 CrPC deals with the Police’s powers to register a FIR) after verification that the speech clipping is not doctored/manipulated. In case police does not do so, a private complaint can be made under Section 156(3) CrPC (Section 156(3) CrPC is the provision which deals with submission of a private person’s complaint before a trial court which may end up in registration of a FIR upon court orders) before a Magistrate and appropriate orders for registration of a criminal case can be passed under Sec 190 CrPC,” he added.
Speaking to ThePrint, Abdur Rahman, former Inspector General of Police, Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission, also said Tiwari should be booked for her “communal” comments.
“Ragini has issued an open threat calling for violence. It (FIR) can either be registered under IPC 506 (threat to commit a crime, criminal intimidation) or under 153A (creating enmity between religious communities). Her tone is visibly communal, trying to create a divide between Hindus-Muslims, Hindus-Sikhs,” the former IPS officer said.
“She has claimed that she cleared Jafrabad and can do so at other places as well. She has accepted her crime, so now it is the Delhi Police’s duty to take cognisance of this statement, call her and ask her how she cleared the area of people, what her role was,” Rahman added.
While no complaint has been filed with the police against Ragini, Rahman said the police can take suo motu action against her on the basis of the video.
“Since her statements are in the public domain, the police can take suo motu cognisance in the matter. Anyone can do so and also lodge a complaint in the police station. Also, Delhi Police has a cyber cell that keeps track of statements on social media, so they can very well take suo motu cognisance in this matter.”
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Most certainly a video made and published by
aCUSE aBUSE pARTY.