‘Hindutva men carried weapons despite restrictions in Haryana’

New Delhi: A senior police officer has said that Hindutva members in the Brajmandal Jalabhishek Yatra were carrying swords, trishuls, and illegal weapons despite police restrictions.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Usha Kundu, in her complaint said that during peace committee meetings held before the yatra, the organisers were also urged not to carry any kind of weapons during the yatra.

“I was on law and order duty with my team 300 meters from the Nalhar temple at around 12.30 p.m. on July 31. We saw a mob of around 15-20 people carrying swords and trishuls marching to Nalhar temple. To maintain law and order, my team had tried to snatch swords and trishuls but they became furious and they started raising slogans against the police. They manhandled my team and even snatched their weapons back from the police vehicles,” Kundu said in her complaint.

The ASP said, “We kept their weapons in our vehicles but they went ahead and squatted in front of vehicles. Another police team came to intervene, but they opened the back door of our official vehicle and fled with the weapons. Bittu and others who had misbehaved with us and threatened to kill us were identified in the footage.”

This fact came to the fore when the Nuh Police arrested cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi from Faridabad on Tuesday in connection with the communal clashes that erupted in the district on July 31. On Thursday, Bajrangi was produced in Nuh court which sent him to 14-day judicial custody in Neemka jail in Faridabad. The police have identified 15 other accused involved in crime and raids are on to nab them.

With the arrest of Bajrangi, and the entire yatra under the scanner, Hindutva outfits Bajrang Dal and VHP have disowned him saying that he neither is a member nor do they support his videos.