New Delhi: Hours after he joined the party Wednesday, the BJP cancelled the membership of Kapil Gujjar, the east Delhi resident who had fired shots in air near the Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA protest site in February.
Gujjar joined the party earlier in the day at an event in Ghaziabad.
Hours later, BJP’s Ghaziabad unit president Sanjeev Sharma issued a statement saying a few people joined the party Wednesday and Kapil Gujjar was one of them but they were not aware of his “Shaheen Bagh past”.
“The party was not aware of his Shaheen Bagh past but after receiving complete information, the state leadership has cancelled his membership,” said the statement.
Sharma told ThePrint: “Sometimes, we make mistakes, we don’t know the past of every person who joins the BJP.”
Sources in the BJP, however, said the central leadership developed cold feet after Gujjar’s induction and told the Uttar Pradesh party president to look into the matter, following which his membership was scrapped.
After joining the party, Gujjar had told reporters that the BJP is working for the cause of Hindutva and he will strengthen the party.
Also read: If Shaheen Bagh shooter is AAP worker, give double punishment, says Delhi CM Kejriwal
Gujjar’s past
On 1 February this year, Gujjar, a resident of Dallupura, Gujjar had fired three shots in the air next to a tea stall in Jasola, which is close to Shaheen Bagh, where a large number of people, mostly women, were protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act passed by the government last year.
He was arrested immediately. While he was being taken away by the police, he chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and was heard saying “Is desh mein aur kisi ki nahi chalegi, sirf Hinduon ki chalegi (No one but Hindus will get to have their say in this country).”
#WATCH Delhi: Man who had fired bullets in Shaheen Bagh area being taken away from the spot by police. pic.twitter.com/lenDhRcWGD
— ANI (@ANI) February 1, 2020
Gujjar was later granted bail by a Delhi court on a bond of Rs 25,000 and a surety of similar amount.
After his arrest, Gujjar had told the Delhi Police that the protest at Shaheen Bagh caused traffic jams in the area and he used to get stuck for hours while going to Lajpat Nagar to make arrangements for his cousin’s wedding.
The Delhi Police had said Gujjar was an AAP member. His father had contested the Municipal Corporation of Delhi election from East Delhi on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket before he joined the AAP. The AAP, however, denied any link to Gujjar.
Also read: ‘Shaheen Bagh Khel Khatam’ — Facebook post by gunman minutes before he opened fire in Jamia