Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh police have arrested two alleged members of right-wing organisations, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, for putting up posters on the Ganga’s ghats in Varanasi warning non-Hindus against coming there. Later on, the police released them after the submission of a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh each.
Opposition parties have lashed out at the UP police for not sending those accused of spreading hate to jail.
According to the police, Ranjan Gupta and Nikhil Tripathi alias “Rudr”, who claimed to be VHP and Bajrang Dal local office-bearers, respectively, were arrested on Saturday. The police identified them on the basis of photos and videos that went viral on social media. Tripathi and Rudr had even posted photos of themselves putting up the objectionable posters with other right-wing workers on their own Facebook accounts.
The station house officer of Bhelupur police station, Rama Kant Dubey, told The Wire over the phone that the police had issued summons on Friday to Tripathi and Rudr in order to submit a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh each, to ensure peace and tranquillity in the town. The summons were issued under Section 107 and 116 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Both were arrested by the local police and produced in the court of the assistant commissioner of police (Bhelupur) on Saturday, from where they were released after submitting a personal bond. But soon after the news of their arrest spread in the town, a large number of volunteers of the two organisations gathered at the police line and shouted slogans for their release. A large number of police were deployed to avoid any untoward incident. A group wearing saffron reportedly scuffled with some policemen.
ACP Praveen Kumar told The Wire that the probe into the matter is on and police would take required action against the miscreants.
The police acted after opposition parties mounted pressure on them to arrest those who had posted communal posters on the banks of the Ganga. The posters read, “Non-Hindus are prohibited from visiting the Ganga’s ghats in Varanasi. …This is a warning, not a request.” Varanasi is a parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he recently inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath corridor.
These posters were put up at Panchganga Ghat, Ram Ghat, Dashashwamedh Ghat, Assi Ghat, and Manikarnika Ghat on the river Ganga on January 6.
These posters appear to be part of a Hindu-right-led anti-minority campaign that has been going on in various parts of the state for the past few months. Many people believe that these posters, which are being erected soon before Uttar Pradesh’s upcoming assembly elections, have political significance.
In an election season, the opposition believes that this was a conspiracy by the saffron brigade to divide the people on communal lines. A Congress party delegation met the Varanasi district authorities and demanded that all those photographed putting up the posters be jailed. Congress leaders expressed anguish over the release of theVHP and Bajrang Dal workers. The district Congress president, Raghvendra Chaubey, said, “The release of these miscreants could be an upbeat for the other hatemongers.”
He added that the police action is merely an eyewash. The Congress also complained about swords allegedly being wielded during a procession taken out by right wingers in various localities of Varanasi. Chaubey said that the Congress also gave a photo of the procession to the police for action.
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The Samajwadi Party also raised eyebrows over the release of the right-wing workers. Manoj Rai “Dhoop Chandi” lashed out at the district authorities for not taking stringent action against those who attempted to disturb the peace. The SP leader added that it was part of the saffron party’s policy of “divide and rule” ahead of the crucial polls.
Former Director General of Police Vikarm Singh says that those who seek to disturb communal harmony should be sent behind bars. Over the phone, Singh told The Wire, “I am surprised that the Varanasi Police leave the culprits of heinous crimes without prosecuting them under stringent laws for their crime.” According to the former DGP, Varanasi police should reconsider their weak actions. Singh went on to say that “there is an onus on the police to send the accused in such sensitive cases to jail”.
Former IAS officer Vijay Sankar Pandey also said that the Varanasi police did not take appropriate action against the accused. “Varanasi police must know that section 107/116 is used to prevent crime, not in the case of a crime that has already been committed.” Pandey also added that “it is seen that it was a deliberate attempt to create a rift between the two communities. The police should prosecute under section 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code.”