Agra Police on Tuesday arrested two Congress leaders for allegedly defacing the wall and the main gate of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's home in Agra with the words "Gyanesh Gaddar, Gyanesh Chor" (Gyanesh traitor, Gyanesh thief).
Anil Yadav, Provincial General Secretary (Organisation) Azamgarh, along with Mukesh Dhanger, District President Congress Mathura, who fled the spot after the act, were pursued by the police team and arrested along with their vehicle.
“With the assistance of CCTV cameras, the police immediately initiated efforts to search for and arrest the accused, during which Anil Yadav and Mukesh Dhanger, who were attempting to flee toward Delhi, were pursued by the police team and arrested along with their vehicle,” Agra Police said in a post on X.
Deep Dive
What charges were filed against the Congress leaders who defaced CEC Gyanesh Kumar's residence?
Why did Congress workers protest outside CEC Gyanesh Kumar's home in Agra?
How did the Agra Police respond to the protest outside Gyanesh Kumar's house?
Efforts are underway to arrest their other associates with the help of CCTV cameras, police said.
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Suo motu cognizance
Agra Police said they have taken a suo motu cognizance and registered a case under the prescribed sections of the BNS at Hari Parvat police station, adding that Yadav, Dhanger, along with their associates entered without any prior notice into a residential colony located in Vijay Nagar, Agra city, and made a nefarious attempt to create chaos at the ancestral residence of the Chief Election Commissioner, where his elderly parents reside.
{{/usCountry}}Agra Police said they have taken a suo motu cognizance and registered a case under the prescribed sections of the BNS at Hari Parvat police station, adding that Yadav, Dhanger, along with their associates entered without any prior notice into a residential colony located in Vijay Nagar, Agra city, and made a nefarious attempt to create chaos at the ancestral residence of the Chief Election Commissioner, where his elderly parents reside.
{{/usCountry}}The arrested individuals are being interrogated in connection with the case. During initial questioning, they told police that they were heading to the party office in Delhi after leaving Agra.
Yadav was the Congress candidate from Nizamabad in Azamgarh in the previous Assembly elections, while Dhanger contested the previous Lok Sabha elections from Mathura as a Congress candidate, police said.
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‘Right to protest, but…’
Agra Police appealed to representatives of all social and political parties, saying that in a democracy, everyone has the right to protest and that designated sites for protests and sit-ins have been identified for this purpose.
However, the police warned that if any common citizen is harassed in a residential area in the name of protest, it will immediately register a case under the relevant sections of the BNS and take legal action. It appealed to political and social groups to conduct protests only at designated sites.
What had happened
Some Congress workers arrived at Kumar’s residence in Agra’s Vijay Nagar on Monday morning, raised slogans, and put up stickers and pamphlets outside the house as part of their protest against the Chief Election Commissioner.
They then used black spray paint to write “Gyanesh Gaddar” and “Vote Chor” on the main gate and walls of the residence. Videos and pictures of the incident have since been widely circulated on social media.
Sharing clips of the protest, the Indian Youth Congress, the youth wing of the party, wrote on X: “In Agra, Congress workers smeared black ink on the house of ‘Gyanesh Gaddar’.”
“The way Modi and Shah, in collusion with Gyanesh, have looted various elections across the country over the past several years is nothing short of outright treason against the nation,” IYC added.
Kumar is under fire following a news report that claimed two Election Commissioners raised objections to decisions taken by the CEC in the panel's name.