A 40-year-old man was arrested two days after he had allegedly burned a copy of the Indian Constitution at Parliament Street in New Delhi. The main accused, who was part of organizing a protest march against the amendments in the SC/ST Act, was booked under stringent sections of Prevention of Insults of National Honour Act and Indian Penal Code, police said on Sunday, August 12.
A complaint was filed by the Akhil Bhartiya Bheem Sena national in-charge, Anil Tanwar, on Saturday, at the Parliament Street police station. Tanwar also provided a video of the incident that went viral showing the two men burning the book and chanting slogans against BR Ambedkar and SC/ST community.
The complainant alleged that the copy of the Constitution was burnt by members of the Youth for Equality. When the police investigated the matter, it was found that the two accused – Deepak Gaur and Abhishekh Shukla, founder of Arakshan Virodh Party, committed the crime during a joint protest on August 9.
Three different teams of police were deployed to nab them. The police raided the residence of the two accused in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. "All were found absconding from their homes. Gaur was finally apprehended from Faridabad," DCP (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said.
The police further interrogated into the matter and found out that Gaur confessed about working together with Shukla to burn the copy of the Constitution with an intention to grab the government's attention against the amendment in SC/ST Act.
During the interrogation, Gaur said that both of them, along with their supporters, burnt the book and shouted slogans against B R Ambedkar, SC/ST Act and the Constitution of India. They later issued a press note for media and ensured the video went viral on Facebook to spread their message.
The chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, had tweeted in response to the incident stating, "Absolutely shocking that Constitution of India burnt at Jantar Mantar in Police presence and no action taken. Is BJP govt in collusion?"
