Jantar Mantar slogans: Police say evidence of link between Ashwini Upadhyay and another accused

One of the accused, Deepak Singh Hindu, president of Hindu Force, was invited to the event by Preet Singh, who is the president of Save India organisation and known to Upadhyay.

ashwini updhyay, jantar mantar protest, delhi

During questioning, Vineet Bajpai Kranti told police he had responded to Ashwini Upadhyay’s call for a protest. (Photo: Twitter/@AshwiniUpadhyay)

Days after arresting six men, including former Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay, in connection with inflammatory and anti-Muslim slogans raised at Jantar Mantar, investigation has revealed that one of the accused, Deepak Singh Hindu, president of Hindu Force, was invited to the event by Preet Singh, who is the president of Save India organisation and known to Upadhyay.

DCP (New Delhi district) Deepak Yadav told The Indian Express that they have the documents on record which show that Upadhyay and Preet Singh are connected with each other. “We have found that Upadhyay had mentioned Preet Singh’s name in his application for organising the event. Further investigations are on,” he said.

Upadhyay has been granted bail by court.

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Apart from Upadhyay, Deepak Singh Hindu and Preet Singh, police have arrested Vinod Sharma, head of Sudarshan Vahini; Deepak Kumar, and Vineet Bajpai Kranti.

Pinky Chaudhary, who has also been named as an accused, was granted anticipatory bail last week.

“We got police custody of Deepak Singh Hindu and Vineet. During questioning, Deepak said he is a follower of Ghaziabad Dasna Devi temple’s head priest Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, and was invited by Preet Singh to join him at Jantar Mantar on Sunday,” a senior police officer said.

Saraswati was booked in April for allegedly making disparaging comments against the Prophet at an event at the Press Club in Delhi. Police are now probing the role of Deepak Singh in connection with the case, police said, adding that on July 31, he had called people to come to a mazaar in East Delhi’s Patparganj to read the Hanuman Chalisa.

During questioning, Vineet told police he had responded to Upadhyay’s call for a protest. Police also found that one of the accused, Vinod Sharma, had previously been booked for trespassing in 2016.

Mahender Singh Manral

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

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