New Delhi, January 8
Right wing activists went on a rampage and vandalised the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) office at Kaushambi in Ghaziabad on Wednesday to protest against party leader Prashant Bhushan's remarks on referendum in Kashmir. The police have arrested the national convener of the Hindu Raksha Dal and 12 others in connection with the incident.

Around 40 activists of the Hindu Raksha Dal broke flower pots kept outside the AAP office, which is a stone’s throw from AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, and tore party posters. Some window panes were also smashed in the attack.

Party member Dilip Pandey, who was in the office when the attack took place, said a group of people carrying Hindu Raksha Dal flags barged into the AAP headquarters around 10.55 am.

“They (assailants) came in six vehicles and were shouting slogans against the party and pelting stones

They were carrying sticks and bricks which they threw at us and broke window panes. Though we managed to take all our volunteers inside, one of them, Poonam was injured in the melee,” AAP volunteers said.

The violence lasted around 20 minutes. AAP volunteers in the office locked themselves up in the building. The Uttar Pradesh police have rushed additional forces to the area and were examining CCTV footage to identify the vandals.

Bhushan had recently said a referendum should be carried out in Kashmir to decide on deployment of the Army to deal with security threats in the Valley.

Bhushan did not rule out the involvement of BJP in the incident. He said the attackers belonged to the same group that had attacked him in his office in 2011 and its leader, Tejinder Bagga, was a known BJP activist.

Hindu Raksha Dal national convener Pinki Choudhary was arrested from Sahibabad area here and an FIR was lodged against him, along with 30-40 unknown persons, in connection with the attack. Another person has been detained for questioning. "Our protest was against AAP’s stand on Kashmir. AAP’s leader Prashant Bhushan's remark on Kashmir is unfortunate for Hindus,” said Pinky Choudhary

“We have arrested one person for the attack on the AAP office. We are in the process of scanning footage of CCTVs installed at the party’s office to identify other accused, who would also be arrested soon,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Rav Vijay Singh said.

Arvind Kejriwal refused to accept any security for himself or his office. When asked about the security issue, Delhi CM and AAP chief said, “I will not take security, not even for the party office. The problem will not be solved by staying under cover. If they think they can solve the problem of Kashmir by harming Prashant or me, I am ready to meet them at a place and time of their choosing.”

Apparently, there was minimal security when the incident happened, but later the UP Police deployed cops both at the site and at the CM’s residence.

AAP leader Kumar Vishwas condemned the attack on the party office and said it was a sign that the BJP was feeling the threat from AAP and was concerned over its growing popularity. “We have already clarified that Prashant Bhushan’s view is not that of the party," said Vishwas.