Main Accused in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar Hate Speech Incident Surrenders Amid Fanfare

Bhupinder Tomar is accused of raising communal slogans to evoke negative ideas against a particular religion at a rally held on 8 August in the Jantar Mantar area of central Delhi. He had been absconding since a case over promoting enmity between different groups and defying COVID-19 guidelines was registered against him.

Bhupinder Tomar, the head of a fringe Hindu group -- Hindu Raksha Dal, surrendered to police in News Delhi on Tuesday after being on the run for nearly three weeks following a hate speech incident during a protest in the Jantar Mantar area of the city.

But just as Tomar alias "Pinky" Chaudhary reached the Mandir Marg Police Station today, hundreds of his supporters greeted him with garlands.

The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to grant interim protection from arrest to Tomar and earlier this month, a sessions court dismissed his anticipatory bail application.

WATCH: #PinkiChaudhary the man who’s accused in the Jantar Mantar hate-speech arrives at the police station to “surrender” before the Delhi Police. pic.twitter.com/krwITZBTkN

— Prashant Kumar (@scribe_prashant) August 31, 2021

​Taking a dig at his surrender, national spokesperson of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), wrote on Twitter, "What else is to be seen in a democratic country that even hooligans become Heroes?"

This is the same goon who raised slogans against Muslims at Jantar Mantar, Delhi & when he went to surrender to Delhi Police today, being taken out in a procession with garlands & slogans.
What else is to be seen in a democratic country that even hooligans become Heroes? https://t.co/rpkAz9BXdo

— Waris Pathan (@warispathan) August 31, 2021

​On Monday, Chaudhary shared a video where he said that he had not said anything wrong.

“I am still firm on my point that neither I nor any worker of my organisation did anything wrong at Jantar Mantar. I respect the court. I will get myself arrested tomorrow, on August 31, around 12 p.m. at Connaught Place police station and will cooperate with police during the probe”, Chaudhary is heard saying in the 1.37-minute video clip.

“I never run away from being arrested. It is the right of every person to go to court and I did the same. All the allegations against me are false and baseless. My life has been devoted towards Hinduism and Hindutva. As long as I am alive, I will continue to do the work of religion”, he added.

On 8 August, former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson and Supreme Court lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay organised a march to demand the repeal of colonial-era laws and ensure that there are uniform laws in place for all citizens across India. Tomar was part of the protest.

Upadhyay and four others were detained by the police for questioning after the protest evoked much criticism over hate speech and anti-Muslim slogans. However, he was later released on bail, but the plea of three of them was rejected by a Delhi court.