Palwal police identify suspects who delivered hate speech on Sunday

The Palwal police have identified suspects who delivered hate speech at a mahapanchayat. They have scanned over 300 social media accounts and identified 50 videos related to the case. The suspects will soon be arrested. The mahapanchayat was held in Pondri village and participants gave inciting speeches against the Muslim community. The police have held a meeting with cyber crime police and intelligence teams to prepare a list of suspects. The case came to light after the Supreme Court stated that hate speeches against any religious community are unacceptable. A case has been registered against unidentified suspects.

Gurugram: The Palwal police on Thursday said they have identified a few suspects who delivered hate speech at the mahapanchayat held on August 13. Senior police officers said they booked unidentified suspects on Wednesday after a video from the mahapanchayat held at Pondri surfaced on social media.

Palwal police identify suspects who delivered hate speech on Sunday

Police said they scanned over 300 social media accounts and identified 50 videos related to the hate speech case and added that they will soon arrest the suspects.

A senior police officer said they will reveal the names of the suspects in a press conference on Friday.

Palwal superintendent of police Lokender Singh said the mahapanchayat was held in village Pondri after permission from the administration, but the participants gave inciting speeches against people from the Muslim community.

“There was a possibility of communal violence after the hate speeches that were delivered during the mahapanchayat. Also, there was a possibility of disturbing peace between the two communities,” the SP said, adding that law and order is in place.

SP Singh said they held a meeting with the cyber crime police and intelligence teams to prepare a list of the suspects who indulged in communally sensitive speeches.

The case came to light a week after the Supreme Court on August 11, said that hate speeches against any religious community are unacceptable and proposed that instances of hate speeches reported across Haryana in the aftermath of the violence in Nuh district be handled by a committee set up by the director general of police (DGP) as the nuances of law on hate speech cannot be appreciated by an inspector-level officer.

Hundreds of Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) members gathered at the mahapanchayat in Palwal on Sunday and announced plans to resume their religious procession in Nuh on August 28, two weeks after their previous procession was attacked by Muslim residents, leading to communal clashes.

The event, attended by thousands of people from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, had many attendees making hate speeches that targeted the Muslim community directly and indirectly, including the use of pejoratives found in Islamophobic vocabulary.

Meanwhile, Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, one of the mahapanchayat organisers who also spoke at the event, said police haven’t contacted him yet. In his speech, he had demanded weapons for Hindu families living in Nuh. “More than 10 people delivered speeches and the videos are on social media. The reality is that Hindus suffered during the Nuh violence. They were tortured, assaulted and killed,” he said.

Incidentally, Bhardwaj was booked on August 6, when he delivered another hate speech at a mahapanchayat held in Tigra village of Gurugram. During the Palwal mahapanchayat, he had challenged the administration to file a second FIR against him and urged residents to resume the religious procession against all odds on August 28.

Another speaker at the mahapanchayat, who belongs to an organisation called Haryana Gau Rakshak Dal, said it is a “do-or-die situation” for them. He said they are ready to face action but do not regret what they said.

A case was registered at Hathin police station on August 14 against unidentified suspects for delivering hate speeches under Section 153A (act prejudicial to harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 505(1)(a) (unlawfully assembled and created rioting to promote enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), police said.