Inflammatory slogans at Jantar Mantar: Ex-Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay, 5 others arrested

Five men including Supreme Court lawyer and former Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay have been detained by the Delhi Police in connection with alleged inflammatory and anti-Muslim slogans at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.

Jantar Mantar Protest:

Apart from Upadhyay, a senior police officer said, the detained men have been identified as Deepak Singh Hindu, Vineet Kranti, Preet Singh amd Vinod Sharma, who is the head of Sudarshan Vahini. "In late-night operation, they all have been detained and now legal documents work is going on before making their arrest. Upadhyay reached Connaught Place police station at around 3 am and joined the investigation," said a senior police officer.

The protest march against "Colonial-era laws" was called by Upadhyay, and the rally had hundreds of people in attendance. Purported videos of the event showed people shouting slogans threatening harm to Muslims.

The police identified all the detained men using footage from the event. "Deepak Singh Hindu, who claims to be the president of an outfit called the Hindu Force, was detained from his house in Northeast Delhi's Karawal Nagar. A team was stationed outside Deepak's house and he was picked up around 12.40 am when he returned home."

On Monday morning, police had registered a case against unknown persons under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) as well as under the DDMA Act pertaining to violation of Covid guidelines.