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The Delhi Police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against one member of the Delhi unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and one member of the Delhi unit of the Bajrang Dal for organising a Shobha Yatra on Hanuman Jayanti in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on the evening of 16 April “without permission of the police.”
The FIR has been registered under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complainant in the matter is a Delhi Police head constable.
The FIR has been filed against Prem Sharma, the zila sewa pramukh of the VHP, and Brahm Prakash, the co-department secretary of the Bajrang Dal.
The FIR, accessed by The Quint, states that on 15 April, Sharma and Prakash “filed an application at the Jahangirpuri police station for carrying out a procession. They were informed that for such kind of permission, they need to seek permission from the DCP Northwest. On 16 April, without any permission, they gathered people and carried out a procession illegally. There was a possibility of a tussle between two communities.”
The FIR further states that “it was then found out that there was no permission granted from the police station. Prem Sharma and Brahm Prakash gathered all people illegally and took out procession without taking permission… Legal action against section 188 of the IPC should be taken against them.”
VHP's Bansal told The Quint on Monday evening:
On Monday evening, DCP (northwest) Rangani said, “A case under section 188 of the IPC has been registered against organisers for carrying out procession (in the evening of 16 April in the area of Jahangirpuri) without any permission, and one accused person has joined the investigation.”
She said that the “other two processions which were carried out in the morning and afternoon on 16 April in the area of Jahangirpuri had due permission.”
Bansal, meanwhile, told The Quint that “the VHP workers of the area had sought permission from the police ahead of the programme.”
He said, “It appears the top bosses of the Delhi Police are not fully aware of their own records because if they were aware, they would know that they themselves gave us permission. It appears the Delhi Police has bowed down before Islamic Jihadis.”
He said that “the VHP does everything legally and had sought all necessary permissions. If any VHP member is picked up illegally by Delhi Police, the VHP won’t stay quiet.”
Sharma told The Indian Express that “we received permission from Delhi Police from two police stations.”
It is to be noted that on Monday evening, the DCP in a WhatsApp group with media personnel had stated that the FIR was filed against VHP and the Bajrang Dal Delhi Prant.
In the message posted by her on the WhatsApp group with media personnel, she had written, “A case under vide FIR no 441/22 dated 17/04/22 u/s 188 IPC, PS Jahangirpuri has been registered against organisers of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal Delhi Prant, Mukherjee Nagar Jila, Jhandewala for carrying out procession (in the evening of 16/04/22 in the area of PS Jahangirpuri) without any permission and one accused person namely Prem Sharma, Jila Sewa Pramukh, Vishwa Hind Parishad has been arrested.”
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