Self-styled cow vigilante Raj Kumar, alias Bittu Bajrangi, has been arrested by Haryana’s Nuh Police based on a first information report (FIR) lodged on Tuesday, August 16th, for alleged misbehaviour, rioting and criminal intimidation. Bajrangi has been sent to police custody for a day by the Nuh district court, where he was presented by the police.
The FIR filed on Tuesday, was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 148 (rioting with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 332 (voluntarily causing harm in order to deter a public worker from doing his duties), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 395 (dacoity), 506 (criminal intimidation), and relevant sections of the Arms Act.
According to the police, Bajrangi has been detained for questioning from Faridabad in connection to misbehaviour with an ASP rank senior woman officer before the violence. He carried a sword and was asked by the officer to drop it. He started misbehaving and jumped on the bonnet of her vehicle.
While the police claimed that Bajrangi is a Bajrang Dal member, Vinod Bansal, the national secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said that he was never associated with the outfit.
The VHP Wednesday in an official statement dissociated themselves from Bittu Bajrangi. “Raj Kumar alias Bittu Bajrangi, who is said to be a Bajrang Dal worker, has never had any relation with Bajrang Dal. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) also does not consider the content of the video allegedly released by him to be appropriate”, the VHP said in a tweet.
Bajrangi has been accused by the residents of Nuh district of inciting violence on July 31st during a rally organised by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal. The self-styled cow vigilante allegedly released a video with communal innuendos before the VHP’s rally, which stirred outrage in Nuh.
Although Bajrangi has been arrested, his co-accused, Monu Manesar, a dreaded criminal accused of murdering two Muslim men in February and is often seen flaunting automatic guns on social media, intimidating Muslims, is still absconding. The police have failed to nab him although videos of him surface on different social media handles.
