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‘Might be arrested’: BJP leader moves HC in Khurshid house vandalisation case
A local Uttarakhand BJP leaader Kundan Singh Chilwal said he did lead a protest 100metres from Salman Khurshid’s house, left, and later returned when he heard about the vandalism, adding that he tried to put out the fire.
DEHRADUN: A local leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party Kundan Singh Chilwal has asked the Uttarakhand high court to stop the police from arresting him in the case relating to vandalism of Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s Nainital house on November 15, people familiar with the matter said.
Kundan Singh Chilwal cited a police report that alleged he led the mob that vandalised the house, insisting that he did lead a protest 100metres from Khurshid’s house, left and later returned when he heard about the vandalism, adding that he tried to put out the fire.
A single bench of justice Alok Kumar Verma heard the petition on Friday. The hearing will continue on Saturday.
Chilwal’s lawyer RS Sammal said they sought a stay on the BJP leader’s arrest since he did not have any role in vandalising Salman Khurshid’s house which was later set afire by a group of miscreants.
“In its report, police has stated that Kundan Singh Chilwal was leading the mob that vandalised the house. We have apprised the court that Chilwal, who is a local BJP mandal leader, held a protest nearly 100metres from the house and left the area after the protest. When he came to know about the vandalisation, he returned and tried to put out the fire, which is also evident in the video of the incident,” Sammal said.
The incident took place amid controversy over Khurshid’s book “Sunrise Over Ayodhaya: Nationhood In Our Times”. In a chapter titled ‘The Saffron Sky’ in the book, Khurshid has written, “Sanatan Dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints were being pushed aside by a robust version of Hindutva, by all standards a political version similar to the jihadist Islam of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years.”
A protest outside Khurshid’s house against the book on November 15 turned violent when a group of people threw stones, fired shots at the house and set it afire.
Bhowali police told the high court that they have arrested four people in the case but underlined that Chilwal was leading the protest, Sammal said.
Ravindra Singh Bisht, counsel of Sunder Ram, caretaker of Salman Khurshid’s house and one of the respondents in the case said that state government sought a day’s time to file an affidavit. “The state government will submit its affidavit on Saturday (November 27) when the court will hear the matter”, he said.
PS Mehra, the officer in charge of the Bhowali police station, said the probe was based on the caretaker’s complaint in which only one person was named.
“During the investigation, police has been trying to identify other people involved in the protest. Based on a video clip, four people were arrested on November 18. Chilwal was also spotted in the video and he said that he led the protest”.
