This is an archive article published on August 9, 2021
Jantar Mantar protest: Delhi Police lodge FIR for ‘inflammatory slogans’
Jantar Mantar Delhi protest: The rally had hundreds of people in attendance, the police said. Purported videos of the event showed people shouting slogans threatening harm to Muslims.
Delhi Police near Jantar Mantar in New Delhi (Representational/Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
The Delhi Police have registered an FIR under Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), against the unknown persons a day after “inflammatory, anti-Muslim slogans” were allegedly raised at Jantar Mantaron Sunday during a march “against Colonial-era laws” in the country.
The Delhi Police said organisers had no permission for the rally and they have also added Sections of 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 51 for violation of DDMA Act pertaining to violation of COVID guidelines.
The rally at Jantar Mantar where hate speech & anti-muslim slogans were raised was called by BJP leader @AshwiniUpadhyay. It has been captured on video. Will @DelhiPolice arrest him for instigating hate against minorities or will he get a pass too like @KapilMishra_IND!
The rally was called by Supreme Court lawyer and former Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay. On Monday morning, Upadhyay sent a text message to the Delhi Police, saying some people had tried to malign his event, and he left the venue when the event ended at 12.15 pm.
DCP (New Delhi district) Deepak Yadav said, “A case has been registered under relevant sections of law. The investigation is in progress.”
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The rally had hundreds of people in attendance, police officials said. Purported videos of the event showed people shouting slogans threatening harm to Muslims. “There was a protest against colonial laws used to suppress Indians by the British, which still exist. We were there to protest against those laws and for a Uniform Civil Code because our demand was that there should be one rule in one country,” said Shipra Srivastava, media in-charge of Bharat Jodo Movement said Sunday. “There was no such (inflammatory) slogan in my knowledge… there were 5,000 people and if five-six people in some corner would be shouting such slogans, then we would disassociate ourselves from them,” she claimed.
A senior police officer from the Intelligence Wing said Delhi Police’s Special Branch had informed the New Delhi district police about the event and that people were likely to turn up in large numbers.
Upadhyay, meanwhile, tried to disassociate himself from the sloganeering and filed a complaint with the police. “I request the police to investigate the authenticity of the video, the place, and timing when it was made and if the videos are authentic then there should be strict action against people involved in it,” he wrote. He has also demanded that there should be criminal defamation cases registered against people who have shared the video using his name.
Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security.
Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat.
During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More