Bittu Bajrangi booked for instigating mob in Faridabad

Tribune News Service

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram, June 30

Tension has gripped Faridabad after a local priest and BJP supporter, Ravi Bhagat, was attacked by a group of men belonging to a specific community on Friday. The police insist that the matter pertains to personal enmity, but several right-wing outfits claim that the attackers shouted slogans, urging his beheading, and attempting to do so.

Bhagat, who is believed to be a close aid of State Transport Minister Moolchand Sharma, is undergoing treatment in hospital. A group of men had also launched a counter-attack on the houses of the suspects.

The group vandalised their houses, escalating the tension. So far, the police have nabbed three of them and even booked cow viglante Bittu Bajrangi for instigating the mob.

Bajrangi, who has earlier been arrested for his role in escalating the tension during the Nuh riots, allegedly took to social media to ask people to gather while he was away.

“We have a Hindu brother named Ravi Bhagat. A particular community slit his throat in front of the Janta Colony crematorium. He is in a serious condition at Escort Hospital. All Sanatani Hindu brothers, there is Ravi Bhai’s Kali temple in front of the crematorium. All brothers should reach there at 11 o’clock to show unity. I am in Panchkula, I had left in the morning. I will return by night, so I cannot be present,” read his Facebook post.

Following this, Bittu was booked under Sections 295 (hurting religious sentiments) and 153A of the IPC.

“Bhagat’s family did not highlight religious sloganeering or it being a communal crime. It is a group of people that started this narrative and eventually attacked the homes of the suspects. We are investigating and looking for the suspects, who attacked the priest. We have caught three persons, who had vandalised the homes of the suspects and booked Bajrangi for instigating the mob,” said the official spokesperson of the Nuh police while speaking to The Tribune.

When contacted, Bhagat’s relative said he was concerned about his health, adding that they believe he was attacked for his affiliation to the BJP.

“We are scared that they might target other members of the family. We don’t want to say anything more. We all know why he was attacked. The government is helping us,” said his wife.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad has taken a stern stance of the attack and demanded the state’s intervention.

Meanwhile, CM Nayab Singh Saini has asked the Faridabad police to act swiftly in the case and arrest those who had attacked Bhagat. He has also issued a warning to all those trying to give the case a communal angle.

It was on June 28 that temple priest Ravi Kashyap, alias Bhagat, was sleeping outside his house in Janta Colony of Faridabad. Some people came and attacked him with a knife, leaving him seriously injured. When his wife came out of the house and raised an alarm, the attackers fled the spot.

The family members allege that the attack was carried out by the people of a particular community. The police had registered a case against Mehtab, Golu, Iqbal, Sajid and Golu Wadhwa under Sections 147, 148, 149, 323, 324, 452 and 506 of the IPC.

The police had also registered a case against Nikhil, Rahul and Kajal under Sections 147, 149, 452, 427, 295A of the IPC for attacking the house of suspects.

BJP LEADERS RECEIVING ‘DEATH THREATS’

Amid the tension, BJP leaders in Nuh have approached the police, claiming that they are receiving death threats for supporting their party. District president Narendra Patel also claimed to have received a threat letter, following which he reported the matter to the Nuh DC. He said he could not identify any suspect. He added that in the anonymous letter, he was threatened that he would be shot dead if he did not leave Nuh. Similarly party’s district convenor Birabal Bhardwaj, too, reported the matter to the police, accusing two persons of threatening to kill him. He said he was being targetted for his political affiliation.

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