NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has invoked charges under “imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration” in one of the FIRs registered against a group of protesters who allegedly raised pro-Maoist slogans and used pepper spray on police personnel during an anti-pollution demonstration at India Gate on Sunday, an official said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Delhi Police told a court that the protesters arrested for allegedly using pepper spray on cops had raised slogans hailing slain Maoist leader Madvi Hidma.
Two FIRs have been registered, one at the Kartavya Path police station against six protesters and another at the Sansad Marg police station against 17 people. The newly added section has been included in the Kartavya Path FIR. After being produced before two magisterial courts, 22 accused were sent to judicial custody.
The newly added Section 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertains to imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration, covering the dissemination of false information that endangers India’s sovereignty, unity or security.
The FIR states that protesters raised alleged Maoist slogans such as “Hidma amar rahe”, “Kitne Hidma maroge, har ghar se Hidma nikalega” and “Hidma lal salaam”, which led to the addition of Section 197 for assertions deemed prejudicial to national integration.
Top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, who was behind several attacks over the past two decades, was killed in an encounter on November 18 — a breakthrough the Chhattisgarh Police described as the “last nail in the coffin” of the insurgency. Security forces killed Hidma, his wife Raje, and four other Naxalites in the operation in Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitaramaraju district.
According to the Kartavya Path FIR, police had prior information that protesters under the banner of the Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air were planning to assemble at India Gate, and that activists from student groups including AISA and the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) were likely to join.
“When we reached the spot, we found a group of men and women carrying pamphlets and banners. They were informed that protests are not allowed at India Gate and that Jantar Mantar is the designated site for demonstrations,” a senior police officer said.
Despite repeated warnings, several protesters climbed over barricades and entered the C-Hexagon, blocking traffic for over an hour. As police attempted to disperse them, some protesters allegedly assaulted officers.
“During the scuffle, a student attacked police, and some used a bottle containing pepper spray on our officers,” police said. Several policemen were injured and taken to RML Hospital. Another confrontation reportedly occurred at the Parliament Street police station when detainees were brought there.
The Kartavya Path FIR includes Sections 74, 79, 115(2), 132, 197, 221 and 223 of the BNS, while the FIR lodged at the Parliament Street police station includes Sections 223A, 132, 221, 121A and 126(2).