Prime suspect in Jantar Mantar hate sloganeering case arrested, say Delhi Police

The police arrested seven persons in the case registered after videos of an August 8 rally at Jantar Mantar went viral on social media where participants allegedly raised anti-Muslim slogans.

The Delhi police on Wednesday arrested Uttam Malik, an alleged prime suspect in the August 8 anti-Muslim sloganeering case at Jantar Mantar.

Security personnel and demonstrators seen during a protest against communal hatred at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/HT file photo)

Senior Delhi police officers, who asked not be named, said Malik, a resident of Ghaziabad claimed that he is a follower of Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati -- the head priest of a temple in Dasna, Ghaziabad. Saraswati was earlier named in an FIR for hate speech against Prophet Muhammad at the Press Club of India on April 1.

When contacted, Saraswati, said, “ I won’t deny that he is my follower. We will fight his case legally. It is his constitutional right to defend himself. Delhi police are framing innocent persons in the case.”

The police arrested seven persons in the case registered after videos of an August 8 rally at Jantar Mantar went viral on social media where participants allegedly raised anti-Muslim slogans. Those arrested include Ashwini Upadhyay, former spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi unit. Upadhyay was released on bail on August 11, a day after his arrest. The rally was organised by ‘Bharat Jodo Andolan’ against colonial-era laws.

Several videos from Jantar Mantar purportedly show Malik, whose real name is Uttam Upadhyay, shouting hate slogans. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

In the ongoing investigation in the case, police are still on the lookout for Pinky Chaudhary. chief of the Hindu Raksha Dal -- a right wing group which had claimed responsibility for the violence on JNU campus in January 2020. Chaudhary’s anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a Delhi court on August 21.

“Our investigation has revealed that the August 8 rally at Jantar Mantar was planned months in advance. Messages were circulated among different groups on WhatsApp, and people from different groups participated in the rally. The people we have arrested so far are connected to each other. The organisers of the event sent invitations under the banner of Bharat Jodo Andolan. People were asked to join a group called Save India Foundation through a WhatsApp number that was mentioned on the invitation for the August 8 event. One of the arrested accused, Preet Singh is the convener of the Save India Foundation,” said a police officer.

Police said five others arrested accused --- Deepak Kumar, Vinod Sharma, Deepak Yadav, Vinit Bajpai and Sushil Tiwari -- are all associated with different right-wing organisations.