Communal Sloganeering at Jantar Mantar: Delhi Police Arrests Uttam Malik

Inflammatory slogans had been raised at a Jantar Mantar gathering called by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay on 8 August.

Uttam (the one with the saffron cloth tied around his head) can be seen in several videos on social media, raising objectionable slogans against the minority community.

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Uttam Upadhyay)

The Delhi Police on Wednesday, 25 July, arrested Uttam Malik (alias Uttam Upadhyay), who was accused of being involved in the communal sloganeering at a Jantar Mantar event in the National Capital on 8 August, news agency ANI reported.

The police is conducting raids to arrest Pinky Chaudhary, another accused in the case, who has been absconding since his anticipatory bail was rejected, The Indian Express reported.

What Had Happened at Jantar Mantar

Purported videos of a gathering at Jantar Mantar on 8 August, at which hundreds were in attendance, had been widely circulated on social media. The videos showed a crowd shouting incendiary, violence-inciting slogans.

The gathering – a march against Colonial laws, had been called by former BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay. The rally had reportedly been organised without prior permission from the Delhi Police.

Ex-BJP spokesperson and Supreme Court advocate Ashwini Upadhyay denied knowledge of anti-Muslim sloganeering at his event, claiming that the incident in question happened after his rally had ended.

Upadhyay and five other men had previously been arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the incident, two days after it occurred. The BJP leader was subsequently granted bail on 11 August.

Sushil Tiwari, the head of an outfit that calls itself the Hindu Army, had been arrested later by the police on 20 August.

Uttam Malik, who had hitherto been absconding, had also been identified as having a role in the sloganeering.

Malik belongs to the outfit called Bhagwadhari Yodha Sangh. In a video recorded at the Jantar Mantar event, the youth said that he was a follower of Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, the head priest of the Dasna Devi temple’s (Ghaziabad), who has regularly been in the news for his controversial statements.

(With inputs from ANI and The Indian Express)