A Delhi court on Wednesday, 11 August, granted bail to advocate and former BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay in connection with the case pertaining to incendiary sloganeering at Jantar Mantar three days back.
The bail has been granted on a bond of Rs 50,000. Upadhyay and three others were sent to two-day judicial custody in connection with the incident on Tuesday, while two other accused were remanded to one-day police custody.
All had been arrested earlier on Tuesday for questioning after Islamophobic slogans were raised at Jantar Mantar over the weekend.
What Had Happened
Upadhyay had organised a march 'against colonial laws' without prior permission from the Delhi Police on Sunday, 8 August.
The gathering was reportedly called as an initiative under the 'Bharat Jodo Movement' – that had been endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a recent episode of Mann Ki Baat.
Purported videos of the gathering soon surfaced on social media, depicting a large crowd of people shouting inflammatory, violence-inciting slogans in unison.
Delhi Police sources had earlier confirmed to The Quint that Vinod Sharma, Vineet Kranti, Ashwini Upadhyay, and Preet Singh had been detained on Monday night by the New Delhi District, Delhi Police, while two men, both named Deepak, had been detained at the Crime Branch.
What Upadhyay Has Said
The ex-BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay denied knowledge of anti-Muslim sloganeering at his event, claiming that it happened after his rally had ended.
"The rally was from 10 to 12 pm. Whereas the sloganeering happened around 5 pm. Our rally was outside Park Hotel but the slogans were given near Parliament House police station. I do not know who they were," the BJP leader told Bar & Bench.
"To check the veracity of the video and take strict action against those who spread religious frenzy, I have submitted a written complaint to @DCPNewDelhi. British law is bad, that's why religious frenzy is spread to get fame," he said in a tweet, tagging PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
"Blaming one another or making allegations and counter-arguments will not reduce the religious frenzy. Demand to change the lousy English laws and to make a law to hand 10-20 years of imprisonment by confiscation of 100% property from fanatics. Religious fanatics should also get the same punishment as the rapists get," he wrote in Hindi.
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