Red Fort violence: Two arrested from Jammu

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Tuesday said they have arrested two “key conspirators” and “active participants” wanted in connection with the violence and vandalism at the Red Fort during the farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Tuesday said they have arrested two “key conspirators” and “active participants” wanted in connection with the violence and vandalism at the Red Fort during the farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day. Both of them are residents of Jammu, the police said.

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Jammu and Kashmir United Kisan Front Chairman Mohinder Singh (45), a resident of Chatha area of Jammu city, and Mandeep Singh (23), a resident of Gole Gujral, Jammu, were arrested on Monday night from Jammu by Delhi Police’s crime branch team with the help of the local police, senior Delhi Police officers said on Tuesday. The two suspects were immediately taken to the national capital for questioning, they said.

“As per the information received, both the accused persons are active participants and key conspirators in the Red Fort case,” read a statement released by the Delhi Police on Tuesday morning.

Mohinder Singh’s family said was innocent and demanded his immediate release. “He (Mohinder Singh) informed me that he was called by the senior superintendent of police (Jammu) and was visiting Gandhi Nagar Police Station before his mobile was switched off. Upon enquiring, I came to know that he was arrested by police and shifted to Delhi,” the farmer leader’s wife told reporters at Jammu.

She said her husband was at the Delhi border (protest sites) and not Red Fort when the violence broke out. “He went alone to see the SSP because he was not afraid as he had done nothing wrong,” she said.

Police said the two have been booked under charges of rioting, assaulting police personnel on duty, attempt to murder, dacoity, and criminal conspiracy, a case regarding which was registered at the Kotwali police station on the complaint of the station house officer. Another case pertaining to the vandalism and damage to the historic fort was registered at the same police station on the complaint by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is the custodian of the fort. Both the cases were later transferred to the crime branch for investigation.

So far, 14 people have been arrested in connection with the violence at Red Fort. They include Punjab’s actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, who was sent to jail for 14 days on Tuesday by a Delhi court after his extended seven days police custody ended.

The crime branch has identified nearly 50 people who were allegedly involved in the violence at the monument. Their identification has been done after analysing the video footage and photographs available with the police. While a majority of the identified persons are named as “key participants”, the police have identified six persons as “key conspirators” and have announced cash rewards for information about them.

The six suspects include Punjab’s alleged gangster-turned-activist Lakha Sidhana, for whom the Delhi Police have announced R1 lakh reward. Despite topping the list of wanted persons in the Red Fort violence, Sidhana surfaced with bodyguards in tow to address a rally organised by Sikh hardliners at Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s ancestral village, Mehraj in Bathinda district on Tuesday afternoon.

While the Delhi Police did not offer any official statement on why Lakha Sidhana could not be arrested despite him turning up at the rally in Punjab, a police officer who did not want to be named said, “Sidhana’s arrest in our top priority and his movements are being tracked. Our teams that are in Punjab to arrest the suspects are facing resistance from locals. We have arrested suspects like Deep Sidhu and others from Punjab and other states. Sidhana will also be caught.”

(With agency inputs)