Republic Day violence: Man who climbed Red Fort tomb arrested

Jaspreet, a resident of Swaroop Nagar in northwest Delhi, was arrested by a Crime Branch team on Saturday.

Thousands of protesters had clashed with the police during the tractor parade called by farmer unions on January 26, demanding a repeal of the Centre’s contentious farm laws.

During the agitation, many from the Singhu and Ghazipur borders changed their route and moved towards Akshardham. The march then went to Central Delhi’s ITO and Red Fort, where police resorted to teargas shelling and lathi charge while some farmers vandalised public property and attacked police personnel. At Red Fort, a section of protesters climbed poles and walls and hoisted their Nishan Sahib flag.

Police said more than 300 police personnel were injured, most of them during clashes at ITO and Red Fort. CRPF personnel also sustained injuries in the clashes and their vehicles too were damaged.

A 27-year-old farmer, Navreet Singh, died during the chaos at ITO.

“Jaspreet Singh is the person who was standing behind accused Maninder Singh and also climbed up one of the tombs located on both the sides of the rampart at Red Fort. In one of the pictures, he is also seen in offensive gesture holding steel tensile installed at Red Fort,” an officer said.

According to the police, Maninder Singh, 30, had “motivated” six people of the neighbourhood, who had accompanied the tractor parade that headed from the Singhu border towards Mukarba Chowk. Jaspreet is one of his associates and was identified from the pictures and videos in which he was purportedly standing behind Maninder, officers said. Maninder, who works as a car AC mechanic, was arrested from Pitampura in northwest Delhi last week, police had said.

Maninder was “radicalised” by seeing “provoking” Facebook posts of various groups, police had said, adding he would frequently visit the Singhu border and was “highly motivated” by speeches made by leaders there.

Earlier, Punjabi actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, who was named an accused in the Republic day violence case, had been arrested by Delhi Police Special Cell. Sidhu had been found instigating the crowd during the tractor rally and violence at Red Fort, said the police.

[With inputs from PTI]

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