At 'Hindu Mahapanchayat' in Burari, Scribes 'Beaten' up, Appeal to Hindus to 'Keep Weapons'

During an event called the ‘Hindu Mahapanchyat’ organised in the national capital, five journalists – including four Muslim scribes – were allegedly beaten up by a Right-wing mob on Sunday. The event also saw Yati Narsinghanand, the head priest of Ghaziabad’s Dasna Devi Temple and an accused in the Haridwar hate speech case, exhorting Hindus to “pick up arms” and “ be a man”. 

Narsinghanand, who is out on bail in connection with the Haridwar hate speech case, can be heard saying in a video that’s being widely circulated online that if India were to get a Muslim prime minister, “in 20 years, 40% Hindus will be killed. If you want to change this, be a man. A man keeps weapons.” He also can be seen saying “50% of you (Hindus) will change your faith in the next 20 years” if India has a Muslim prime minister.

According to a report by The Wire, the event was being organised under the banner of Save India Foundation run by Preet Singh – a follower of priest Yati Narsighanand. Delhi Police was quoted by The Indian Express as saying that the organisers did not have permission to hold the event. According to Preet Singh’s Twitter account, however, the event was planned as far back as January 4 this year.

The journalists who were attacked at this event included freelancers Arbab Ali and Meer Faisal, photojournalist Mohd Meherbaan and The Quint’s principal correspondent Meghnad Bose. The fifth journalist stated that he wants to maintain anonymity, fearing intimidation, according to the Wire report.

Newslaundry reporters Shivangi and Ronak Bhatt were also allegedly attacked by the mob.

Bose took to Twitter to say that he had been detained along with four other Muslim journalists and all of them were in a police van.

According to a tweet by Article 14 –  a legal news and analysis website for which one of the four allegedly detained journalists was covering the event – the mob at the “mahapanchyat”, discovered the journalists’ religion, attacked them and deleted their videos. The reporters said that their equipment was seized as well.

The Wire quoted Ali as saying, “We were beaten up brutally by the mob, moreover, videos on Meer’s camera were deleted. I felt like we would be lynched. They called us jihadis when they were beating us up. The police somehow managed to take us away and we are at the police station right now.” Ali write on Twitter that the journalists were called “jihadis” and were attacked for “being Muslims”.

The journalists were taken to Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar police station. Two journalists have reportedly also suffered injuries.

DCP North-West Delhi Usha Rangnani, however, took to Twitter to claim that no journalist was detained. The tweet read: “Brief facts: Some of the reporters, willingly, on their own free will, to evade the crowd which was getting agitated by their presence, sat in PCR Van stationed at the venue and opted to proceed to Police Stn for security reasons. No one was detained. Due police protection was provided.”

The organiser of the event – which was reportedly attended by over 200 people – Save India foundation had organised a similar event in the past at Jantar Mantar, where anti-Muslim hate speech was given in 2021. A chargesheet was filed by the Delhi police in connection with the same foundation in November 2021.