Four men claiming to be members of the right-wing Hindu Raksha Dal have been arrested for allegedly assaulting students and manhandling women on Delhi’s DDU Marg during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest on October 10, police said on Sunday.
The arrests followed the circulation of a video on social media that purportedly shows the men attacking young students and pushing and hitting women on a stretch of DDU Marg under the jurisdiction of the Kamla Market police station. A police personnel can also be seen at the scene as the assault unfolds.
The incident took place amid protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The demonstrations were accompanied by widespread detentions across the national capital.
The accused have been identified as Raman Saini, 50, Vivekanand alias Vivek, 32, Kapil Kumar, 27, and Ravinder Singh alias Govind Hindu, 35, a senior police officer said.
According to police sources, the video began circulating in social media groups on the first day of the protest, when students were attempting to gather at various locations across Delhi. However, the exact location of the incident could not initially be established.
Security personnel deployed across the city subsequently identified the spot during verification and security checks conducted in connection with the demonstrations, the sources said.
Police said no formal complaint had been filed over the incident. However, they initiated action on their own after the video came to their notice. Confidential inputs also suggested that the men allegedly involved might attempt to leave the Delhi-NCR region to evade action, prompting the police to trace and arrest them, the senior officer said.
The footage has since been widely circulated on social media, including by accounts associated with political organisations and public figures. Handles linked to the Indian Youth Congress, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the CJP have also shared the video.
The arrests come amid heightened security measures and a sweeping police crackdown on protesters who gathered at different locations in Delhi on October 10. Thousands of people were detained during the demonstrations.
