4 men held after right-wing groups threaten, assault CJP protesters in Delhi: Cops

A day after groups of men linked to right-wing groups threatened and assaulted Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protesters and journalists in Connaught Place and near the MCD Civic Centre in Delhi, the police said they had apprehended four men in connection with the incident.

Notably, a group of men also shouted slogans and threatened journalists on Saturday. “You all are showing fake news for CJP. We will protect Delhi Police since they can’t use arms against you,” one of them shouted.

The apprehended men claimed to be members of the Hindu Raksha Dal, cops said. They were identified as Raman Saini (50) and Vivekanand (32), both from Delhi, and Kapil Kumar (27) and Ravinder Singh (35), both from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

A senior police officer said the accused told the police after being detained that they had assaulted the protesters because the latter had confronted them earlier. However, police said they had found no evidence to support the claim that CJP protesters had accosted the men.

The group of men were seen attacking protesters in the presence of police personnel. HT reporters witnessed men beating protesters in front of the police at Connaught Place.

In an incident near the MCD Civic Centre, the confrontation between men from the Hindu Raksha Dal and protesters took an ugly turn after the men began dragging, assaulting and threatening women and men on the streets.

In several social media posts, protesters were seen being assaulted, slapped and kicked by the men.

In a purported video of the assault, the men are seen dragging and thrashing a young woman. Senior police officers said they took cognisance of the video showing the young woman and registered a case. The police said the men were identified and apprehended.

HT on Saturday also spoke to the 14-year-old girl who had staged a protest last month against right-wing content creator Swatantra Bhardwaj over the alleged assault on her father during a CJP protest in June. She alleged on Saturday that she had been followed by two men in Connaught Place.

“They were walking near me when they identified me. Later, 20 men came near me. Some of them I know because they keep calling me and sending me messages because of Bhardwaj,” she said.

She added, “They came to me and started threatening me. They asked me why I've joined the protest. They were about to attack me, but people around me saved me. The police also came but did nothing. These men roam freely and target us, but we can't do anything. They were shouting at me and hurling abuses because they said I don't respect the prime minister.”