The Delhi Police on Monday retracted a statement linking the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal to the Jahangirpuri violence case after the VHP warned the police from taking any action against its members.
On Monday, the city police said that they had registered a first information report against the organisers VHP and Bajrang Dal for taking out a procession on 16 April evening without taking permission from authorities.The police said they also arrested a man identified as Prem Sharma, who is a local Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader.
However, within hours the statement was withdrawn by the Delhi Police without any reference to the Hindutva groups.
The police further said that the Indian Penal Code Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) is a bailable offence and the person who had joined the investigation was let off after questioning.
This comes after the Hindu militant group Vishwa Hindu Parishad warned the police from taking any action against its members in connection with the violence.
“The VHP will launch a battle if they try to lodge a false case or pick up any of its activists,” VHP’s national spokesperson Vinod Bansal told PTI.
He added, that the police had bowed down before “jihadis.”
Bansal said the police have “made a big blunder” by filing FIR against members of Hindutva groups.
Violence broke out in Jahangirpuri following the shobha yatra when Hindu youth entered a Muslim locality and participants in the yatra threatened to attack a mosque.
The police have arrested more than 20 people -14 of them Muslims- including minors, on charges of rioting and unlawful assembly.
The new FIR has been lodged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) at Jahangirpuri police station after a head constable of the same police station filed a complaint.
The police case against Hindutva groups came after rights groups, Muslim bodies accused of city police of arbitrarily detaining Muslims.
“On April 15, Prem Sharma, the zila sewa pramukh of the VHP, and Braham Prakash, co-department secretary, filed an application – DD (daily diary) no 83A in the Jahangirpuri police station for carrying out a procession. They have been informed that for such permission, they should take permission from DCP (northwest),” read earlier statement.
“On April 16, without any permission, they gathered people and willingly carried out a procession “illegally”. There was a possibility of some tussle between two communities and it came to (the) fore from the police station that they did not take any permission. Prem Sharma and Braham Prakash personally gathered all the people illegally and without taking permission, they organised a procession, which is a violation of a notification issued by ACP (Jahangirpuri) on April 1.. Legal action under IPC Section 188 should be taken against them,” it went on to say.
This article first appeared on maktoobmedia.com
