New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a member of a right-wing group for allegedly pasting a poster, warning US president Joe Biden against “bullying India”, outside the US embassy in Chanakyapuri.
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The Hindu Sena has claimed responsibility for the incident even as it alleged that police have illegally detained two of its members and not allowed them to talk to their families. Police dismissed the charge and said that only one person was arrested, adding that he was subsequently released on bail.
Deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Amrutha Guguloth identified the accused as Pawan Kumar, a resident of East Arjun Nagar near Karkardooma court. “The accused disclosed that he arrived with the group’s president Vishnu Gupta near the US embassy and upon the latter’s instructions, he pasted the poster. Later, Gupta put it up on social media,” she said.
Police said they registered a case under Section 3 of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act on Friday. “Further investigation is underway,” an officer said.
Gupta, the national president of Hindu Sena, told HT his group pasted the poster but claimed that “we did nothing wrong”. “US administration has failed to revive the American economy and has been actively involved in escalating the Ukraine-Russia crisis. We, as Indian citizens, are offended by the confused attitude of the Biden administration…,” he said.
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“We received a call from police on Saturday morning asking about the posters. I told them we have not done anything wrong or anti-national and promised to send the members who pasted the poster to the police station,” he said.
Later in a statement, Gupta said Kumar, the arrested accused, is the organisation’s state secretary, and added that police also illegally detained Hindu Sena national vice-president Surjit Yadav (60) at the Chanakyapuri police station.
Responding to the charge, DCP Guguloth said, “There has been no illegal detainment. The arrested accused has already been bailed out. Further investigation is in process.”
