Jantar Mantar slogans: Delhi HC refuses to give protection from arrest to Hindu Raksha Dal chief

The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to grant interim protection from arrest to Bhupinder Tomar, who has been accused of shouting inflammatory slogans at a rally in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on August 8, Bar and Bench reported.

Justice Mukta Gupta directed the police to file a status report, and posted the matter for hearing on September 13.

The slogans were allegedly raised at a rally less than 2 kilometres from Parliament on August 8. Videos of the event showed a group of people shouting slogans such as: “Jab mulle kaate jayenge, Ram-Ram chillayenge [Muslims will chant Ram-Ram when they are slaughtered].”

Tomar, who is also known as Pinky Chaudhary, is the president of a group called the Hindu Raksha Dal.

On Friday, Chaudhary’s lawyer, Vishnu Shankar Jain, argued that his client was not involved in the chanting of the slogans. He also pointed out that Bharatiya Janata Party leader and the organiser of the event, Ashwini Upadhyay, had already been granted bail.

The judge, however, said that Chaudhary could not insist on interim protection from arrest.

“Prima facie the FIR [first information report] suggests that slogans and speeches were given, let them [police] file a status report,” she said, according to Live Law.

The judge also sought to know the whereabouts of Chaudhary when the slogans were raised, and asked whether he was not present…

Read more