In a fresh video that reportedly surfaced from Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh, where communal violence broke out on Republic Day, a group of men are seen armed with guns, clubs and sticks walking on a road.
The short clip, which also has gunshot sounds, was allegedly filmed from a rooftop minutes before 22-year-old Chandan Gupta was shot dead leading to communal clashes and massive destruction of public property on 26 January, reported NDTV.
The clashes began on Republic Day when a "Tiranga Yatra" bike rally was taken out by the ABVP and other Hindu organisations. As they were passing through Badu Nagar – a Muslim-dominated area – some groups allegedly objected to certain slogans and a heated argument led to stone pelting. The warring groups resorted to firing which killed 22-year-old Gupta and injured another man named Noushad, who was admitted to a hospital in neighbouring Aligarh district.
The New Indian Express (TNIE) reported sources saying that police are probing the video to further investigate the case.
Visuals of Chandan Gupta riding a bike as part of the yatra and shouting slogans like “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai” also emerged from Kasganj, reported TNIE. There were also other visuals from the ‘Tiranga Yatra’, where the men are heard chanting "Hindustan mein rahna hoga, Vande Matram kahna hoga (You have to stay in Hindustan and say Vande Mataram)."
The Quint could not independently verify the authenticity of these videos.
The main accused in the murder of Chandan Gupta was arrested on Wednesday, 31 January, news agency PTI reported.
"Saleem, the main accused, has been nabbed," IG, Aligarh Range, Sanjeev Gupta told PTI.
The Union government on 30 January, sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the violence. Meanwhile Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Tuesday, broke his silence on Kasganj violence promising action against those involved, even as politics brewed over the clashes with Union minister Giriraj Singh claiming that media would have chosen a "different" line if the killed youth was from the minority community.
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