Anti-Muslim slogans at Jantar Mantar: Court sends ex-BJP spokesperson, 5 others in judicial custody

A Delhi court on Tuesday sent six people, including ex-BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay, arrested in connection with anti-Muslim slogans allegedly raised during a protest at the Jantar Mantar, to two days in judicial custody. Duty Magistrate Tanvi Khurana sent the accused to judicial custody, considering that their bail applications were pending. The judge also directed that the applications moved by the accused –Ashwini Upadhyay, Preet Singh, Deepak Singh, Deepak Kumar, Vinod Sharma and Vinit Bajpai – be placed before the court concerned on Wednesday itself. The court also said, “It can be observed that the investigation is at nascent stage and the possibility of the tampering with the evidence cannot be ruled out at this stage.” However, the court noted the submissions made by the investigating officer in the case that he wished to file a detailed reply to the bail applications. The six accused were arrested from different parts of the Delhi-National Capital Region. A video showing anti-Muslim slogans being raised during a protest at Jantar Mantar here was widely circulated on social media, following which the Delhi Police registered a case in connection with the matter on Monday. Hundreds of people had attended a protest organised by ‘Bharat Jodo Aandolan’ at Jantar Mantar on Sunday. Shipra Srivastava, the media in-charge of Bharat Jodo Aandolan, had said the protest was held under the leadership of Upadhyay. However, she denied any links to those who raised anti-Muslim slogans. Upadhyay too denied any involvement in the anti-Muslim slogan-shouting incident. The video shows a group of people shouting inflammatory slogans and threatening Muslims during the protest at Jantar Mantar.