Two booked for Muslim boycott call at Gurugram mahapanchayat

Officers said that the mahapanchayat was held without valid permission where the speakers called for economic boycott of Muslims

Two days after thousands of villagers from across Gurugram gathered to attend a mahapanchayat in Tigra village of Sector 57, two people were booked for their speeches at the event held on Sunday, Gurugram police said on Tuesday.

The mahapanchayat was called to protest the arrest of four men from Tigra village for their alleged involvement in an attack on a mosque in Gurugram. (PTI)

Officers said that the mahapanchayat was held without valid permission where the speakers called for economic boycott of Muslims. The mahapanchayat was organised in the wake of the communal violence in Nuh on July 31 in which at least six people were killed.

The Sector 56 police booked two speakers at the event — Kulbhushan Bhardwaj and Babita Gurjar. An FIR has been registered under sections 53A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc.), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.

A police officer aware of the developments said that the two were booked after investigators went through the videos of the event that were shared on social media websites.

“We are collecting evidence based on which further action will be taken against them,” said the officer who did not wish to be named.

Meanwhile, Bhardwaj, a member of Bajrang Dal, said the authorities were trying to divert the focus from the violence in Nuh last week. “We are fighting for justice, and I will continue to support Hindu groups that were targeted in Nuh. We have lost a member and cannot sit silently and demand no action,” he said.

The mahapanchayat was called to protest the arrest of four men from Tigra village for their alleged involvement in an attack on a mosque in Gurugram.