Ghaziabad: Police may invoke NSA against Hindu Raksha Dal leader

Pinky Chaudhary, along with 15-20 of his supporters, allegedly singled out and attacked several shanties of Muslim workers and also beat them up before setting their belongings afire

The Ghaziabad Police is contemplating action under the National Security Act (NSA) against Pinky Chaudhary, the chief of right-wing outfit Hindu Raksha Dal, after he and his supporters allegedly assaulted families of Muslim workers and damaged their shanties near Guldhar railway station on late Friday evening. The HRD members had alleged that the victims were Bangladeshi nationals.

HRD leader Pinky Choudhary (HT Photo)

Police arrested Chaudhary and his accomplice Badal Singh on Saturday night, and both were produced before a magistrate on Sunday. Abhishek Srivastava, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Kavi Nagar circle, said the accused have been remanded in judicial custody and sent to jail.

Chaudhary, along with 15-20 of his supporters, allegedly singled out and attacked several shanties of Muslim workers and also beat them up before setting their belongings afire.

Chaudhary had alleged that those attacked were nationals from Bangladesh, where members of the Hindu community were allegedly being targeted following the ouster and escape of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India on August 5, following a student-led uprising.

Chaudhary himself circulated the purported videos of the incident shot by his supporters, police added.

The Ghaziabad police registered a suo motu FIR against Chaudhary and 15 to 20 unidentified supporters on Saturday, and denied Chaudhary’s claims that those targeted were Bangladesh nationals, adding that they are natives of Shahjahanpur district.

“The act done cannot be justified at all and this calls for action under the NSA. We may initiate action under NSA, but it will be done through a proper procedure,” said Dinesh Kumar P, additional police commissioner.

ACP Srivastava said that Chaudhary already has a list of 14 cases against him at different police stations in Ghaziabad, and these include cases related to rioting, promoting enmity between groups based on religion, etc., extortion, and also acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs, among others.

“Apart from the sections already levied in the FIR against Pinky Chaudhary on Saturday, we have added one more BNS section of 326 (g) (use of fire or explosive substance to burn down building or dwelling). He already has 14 different cases against his name and also circulated videos of the Friday’s incident,” the ACP added.

Meanwhile, several posters were pasted near the police station and the district court, showing Chaudhary’s picture, claiming that he is going to contest the MLA elections (bypolls) from the Ghaziabad seat.

The Ghaziabad assembly seat is vacant and slated for a bypoll as sitting MLA Atul Garg won the Lok Sabha elections from Ghaziabad.

Chaudhary and his outfit gained limelight in 2014, when they allegedly led an attack on the Aam Aadmi Party office in Kaushambi. In 2016, he contested the mayoral bypolls of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation as an independent candidate and came fourth. HRD also made news in January 2020 when it claimed responsibility for the violence on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in Delhi.