On Monday, April 18, two days after a Hanuman Jayanti procession came under attack from Islamists in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area, DCP NW Usha Rangnani said a 36-year-old scrap dealer, Sheikh Hameed, has been arrested in the case. She also stated that Hameed has admitted to providing bottles used by pelters to attack the procession.
“During the probe of the Jahangirpuri violence case, one more accused namely a 36-yr-old Sheikh Hameed has been arrested. He is a scrap dealer. During interrogation, he disclosed that he had supplied bottles that were used for pelting during the incident,” DCP NW Usha Rangnani was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsDuring the probe of the Jahangirpuri violence case, one more accused namely a 36-yr-old Sheikh Hameed has been arrested. He is a scrap dealer. During interrogation, he disclosed that he had supplied bottles that were used for pelting during the incident: DCP NW Usha Rangnani
— ANI (@ANI) April 18, 2022
The revelation is significant, given that a section of Indian left-leaning liberals have been pushing a twisted narrative that the Hanuman Jayanti procession caused grievous provocations to the residents of Jahangirpuri, which ultimately resulted in violence. It effectively punctures the claims that the violence in Jahangirpuri was a result of a “spontaneous reaction” to “instigation” caused by the Hindu procession, and there was no preplanned conspiracy to throw the national capital into the flames of communal conflagration.
The fact that the rioters had bottles in advance suggests that mobs in Jahangirpuri were predisposed to attacking the Hindu procession long before they had arrived in the neighbourhood. It is perhaps to this end that rioters procured weapons, stones, and bottles so that when the Hindu procession passed through their region, they were equipped and armed enough to attack them.
This telltale disclosure was made hours after Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on Monday rubbished social media claims that the violence erupted during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in Jahangirpuri after saffron flags were hoisted atop a mosque in the area.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Asthana warned that some people on social media have been indulging in spreading fake news to create communal discord and impede the investigation. He warned strict action against such fake news peddlers.
At around 5.29 minutes into the press conference, Asthana said, “Some people are trying to disturb peace through the medium of social media. We are monitoring social media closely, and legal action will be taken against those who are found spreading misinformation. The public should not pay heed to rumours.”
Asthana’s statement rejecting the claims about the hoisting of a saffron flag atop the mosque is a slap in the face to the assorted gang of left-liberals who took to social media to peddle fake news to shift the public discourse away from Islamists’ role in the Delhi violence and toward the Hindu community, which organised the ‘Shobha Yatra’ on Hanuman Jayanti.
Left Liberals rush to whitewash Islamists accused of unleashing violence
On April 17, OpIndia reported how the liberal cabal initially made ‘appeals’ for peace when video footage showed men in skull caps, pelting stones and brandishing swords. They later went on to allege that the Hindus who took out the procession not only pelted stones at the mosque but also tried to hoist a saffron flag atop the Islamic place of prayer, which led to the clashes.
The first to come up with this conspiracy theory was Hindustan Times journalist Hemani Bhandari. Citing one Sajid Saifi, she claimed that the clashes began after Hindu worshippers forcibly entered the mosque and tried to hoist saffron flags. She also alleged the presence of ‘outsiders’ in the ‘Shobha Yatra’ by citing one resident named Wasim Qureshi. “Hindus and Muslims live in peace in this area. All these people were outsiders,” she tweeted quoting Qureshi.
This Tweet by a Hindustan Times journalist triggered a chain reaction. Mohammad Zubair, the co-founder of Islamist propaganda site Alt News and a fake news peddler, was quick to give credence to Hemani Bhandari’s fabrication by retweeting her tweet.
Similarly, a raft of other ‘liberals’ too pushed the narrative that the Jahangirpuri violence has its roots in “provocation” caused by the Hindu procession. However, the “reaction” theory falls flat after DCP NW Usha Rangnani revealed that rioters had procured bottles in advance from one Sheikh Hameed to attack the Hanuman Jayanti procession.
Jahangirpuri riots: Hindus face the brunt of Islamists during Hanuman Jayanti
On Saturday (April 16), a Hanuman Jayanti procession was attacked by Islamists in the Jahangarapuri area of Delhi. According to the FIR, the procession was moving peacefully. However, when it approached the Jama Masjid in C Block at 6 PM, a man named Ansar approached the procession with some of his companions and initiated an argument.
The dispute quickly escalated into stone-pelting, resulting in a stampede in the procession. According to the FIR, police attempted to take control of the situation, but a specific segment of the mob disregarded the orders and intensified the sloganeering and set ablaze some vehicles. The crowd kept pelting stones and glass bottles at the procession.
