Hindu Raksha Dal leader Bhupendra Tomar alias Pinky Chaudhary said the outfit’s workers barged into the JNU campus on Sunday night as ‘anti-national and anti-Hindu activities’ were being carried out there.
New Delhi: Hindu Raksha Dal, a far-Right group, has claimed responsibility for the brutal assault on teachers and students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) by a masked mob on January 5.
Tomar’s admission comes at a time when a video, which has now gone viral, shows ABVP’s Delhi Joint Secretary Anima Sonkar admitting on national television that two armed men seen in videos carrying rods in the JNU campus are from the RSS-linked student union.
In another video posted on Twitter, the outfit’s leader Bhupendra Tomar alias Pinky Chaudhary said Hindu Raksha Dal workers barged into the JNU campus on Sunday night as “anti-national and anti-Hindu activities” were being carried out there.
“JNU is a hub of communists and we won’t tolerate such hubs. They abuse our religion and our country. Their attitude towards our religion is anti-national. In future, too, we will take the same action in other universities if someone tries to indulge in anti-national activities,” Tomar said in the 1 minute and 59 second video.
कल जेएनयू कांड की पूरी जिम्मेदारी ले ली है इसने। दिल्ली पुलिस के लिए केस आसान हो गया pic.twitter.com/528nk3YTR8
— Narendra nath mishra (@iamnarendranath) January 6, 2020
Tomar, popularly known as Pinki Bhaiya, said he and his Right-wing outfit take full responsibility for the attack. “They live in our country, they eat here, get their education here and then indulge in anti-national activities… those involved in that JNU act were all our workers. We are always ready to sacrifice our lives for the country,” he said.
During a panel discussion on Times Now, Anima Sonkar said the duo were carrying rods in “self-defence”. Seeking to explain the videos that emerged following the Sunday night attack on JNU students and teachers on campus, Sonkar said they were asked on WhatsApp groups to be armed before stepping out.
“In all the WhatsApp groups, so much panic was spread… whenever you are stepping out, step out in groups, step out while you have rods… whatever you get handy, pepper spray, somebody has acid. I have not even heard or seen any case of acid attack or something (sic),” Sonkar said during the televised debate.
Meanwhile, news agency ANI quoted government sources as saying that claims made by Tomar are being investigated. “Delhi Police has taken cognizance. To identity masked men in JNU, Police is taking help of video footage as well as face recognition systems,” the sources said.
Violence broke out at JNU on Sunday as a masked mob armed with sticks and rods attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus.
Over 20 people, including JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as chaos reigned on the campus for two hours.
The violence drew strong reactions from opposition parties which hit out at the BJP and accused “those in power” of trying to scuttle the voice of students.
Home and HRD ministries have sought reports from the Delhi Police and JNU administration, respectively. Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the Delhi Police chief and enquired about the situation at JNU.
