Una hate speech: ‘Right-wing’ activist Kajal Hindusthani arrested, sent to judicial custody

The case pertains to a speech Shingala had given at a public meeting organised by Shree Ramkrushna Janmotsava Samiti, Una in Tower Chowk of Una as part of the Ram Navami celebrations on March 30. Police say tension had built up after her speech. To diffuse the atmosphere, the police had called a meeting of leaders of the two communities on April 1. However, the meeting took an ugly turn as leaders of both communities engaged in heated exchanges in the presence of police officers.

Later on, a mob of around 200 people assembled and allegedly indulged in violence by pelting stones and glass bottles at the homes of people and passersby. They vandalised vehicles as well.

Based on a complaint filed by RR Galchar, a police sub-inspector attached to the Una police station, the cops booked 76 people from the minority community and another 200 for unlawful assembly and rioting voluntarily causing hurt on April 1. The next day, based on a complaint by Kanti Parmar, an assistant sub-inspector posted at the same police station, Shingala was also booked under IPC Sections 195A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).

While 96 people have been held for rioting so far, Shingala’s is the first arrest in the hate speech case. “We have also recorded statements of the organisers of the events. They are claiming that they had no idea that Shingala would make such a speech,” NK Goswami, Una police inspector said.

A resident of Jamnagar city in Gujarat, Shingala, who claims to have campaigned for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, identifies herself as a “nationalist” and a “social activist” on her social media pages. Her website, which has become inaccessible since the past few days, claimed that she had participated in BJP leader Om Birla’s Lok Sabha election campaign in Rajasthan in 2019. Birla had won the election and was subsequently elected the Speaker of Lok Sabha.