Red Fort violence: Man with swords arrested
Item
Title
Red Fort violence: Man with swords arrested
Description
NEW DELHI: One of the most wanted persons involved in the Red Fort violence that occurred on Republic Day has been arrested by Special Cell of Delhi Police. The accused, Maninder Singh alias Moni (30), is a resident of Swaroop Nagar in northwest Delhi and works as a car AC mechanic. Singh was arrested around 7.45pm on Wednesday from Pitampura by a special team led by inspector Shiv Kumar. Two swords with a length of 4.3 feet each, which he had been seen swinging at Red Fort, have been seized. “The arrested man was seen in a video swinging the swords at Red Fort to motivate and energise the mob indulging in brutal assault on police personnel on duty with swords, iron rods, axes, barsa, danda, etc and damaging the historical monument on Republic Day,” read a Delhi Police statement. The video was found on Singh’s phone too, apart from photos of his presence at Singhu border. Police claimed that Singh disclosed that he was “radicalised” by seeing provoking Facebook posts. He used to frequently visit Singhu border and got motivated by speeches made there. “He disclosed that he motivated six people in his neighbourhood in Swaroop Nagar. All six rode on bikes to accompany a tractor rally of farmers from Singhu border towards Mukarba Chowk. Singh kept the two swords with him before joining the rally,” said an officer. The accused, his five associates and other unknown armed miscreants entered Red Fort where Singh swung his sword and danced around. This motivated the protesters to cause mayhem and indulge in violence against public servants on duty there. They also damaged Red Fort,” added the officer. Earlier, Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu, Iqbal Singh and others were arrested for their alleged involvement in the violence at Red Fort where the Sikh religious flag was also unfurled. Sidhu remains in police custody. Cops are ascertaining the sequence of events that led to the violence and others who were involved in the mayhem.
Publisher
The Times of India
Date
2021-02-18
Coverage
Delhi