Hindu man detained for threatening to blow up RSS office

A 26-year-old man was apprehended on Wednesday for allegedly threatening to blow up the office of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in central Delhi’s Jhandewalan, police said, adding that man has been questioned by several police units

A 26-year-old man was apprehended on Wednesday for allegedly threatening to blow up the office of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in central Delhi’s Jhandewalan, police said, adding that man has been questioned by several police units.

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Deputy commissioner of police (central) Shweta Chauhan said the police control room received a call at 12:41pm alerting them that a man was threatening the functionaries of VHP and RSS at their second floor office at the Jhandewalan Temple besides declaring that he would also blow up the office. When police reached the spot, the man, identified as Prince Pandey, a resident of Madhya Pradesh’s Bhatwali village, was detained and interrogated.

“He claimed to be a graduate and said he came to Delhi on July 22 along with his maternal aunt who resides in Fatehpur Beri area. He came to the VHP headquarters with a grievance about a family in his village who had converted to Christianity; he was angry that nobody did anything about it,” the officer said.

The man claimed to be a RSS supporter and said he was disappointed with the Sangh for not taking up the matter. “It was only to attract attention that he made these threats. He was interrogated at the Paharganj police station in the presence of the special cell and special branch officers,” the DCP said.

VHP Delhi president Kapil Khanna said, “ The man came to the office when our office-bearers were present there. He threatened to blow up the building and then attempted to flee. Our officials caught him and handed him over to the police. The police must investigate the real identity and motive of this person.”