NEW DELHI: Two persons, including a 21-year-old man who assaulted a policeman on duty at Red Fort with a spear on January 26 during the farmers’ agitation, has been arrested in connection with the violence at the historic monument, police said on Wednesday.
The duo, Maninderjit Singh, 23, and Khempreet Singh, 21, who were actively involved in the violence, were arrested on Tuesday. According to police, Maninderjit Singh, a Dutch national settled in Birmingham, UK, was arrested at the IGI Airport while trying to flee from India on forged travel documents and posed himself as Jarmanjit Singh.
As per his plans, Maninderjit was to fly first to Nepal from Delhi and then head to the UK. A look out circular was also issued by the police against him in connection with the case and he is previously involved in two criminal cases, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch Monika Bharadwaj said. He originally belongs to a village in Gurdaspur district of Punjab.
“This is not the first time he accused of something. He is a habitual criminal and was previously involved in another riots case registered with the Rangar Nangal police station in Gurdaspur and was also involved in a case of cheating at Indira Gandhi International Airport Police Station in New Delhi,” said the police.
“There are video footages on record, which shows the presence of the accused alongside the unlawfully assembled riotous mob carrying a ‘bhaala’ (spear) during the farmers’ agitation on January 26,” Bhardwaj said. The senior police further said that electronic evidence shows that the accused had also visited Singhu border protest site on different dates.
“He holds a Netherlands passport. Presently, the accused along with his family is settled in Birmingham, and is employed as a labourer in construction field. In December 2019, the accused visited India and due to the 2020 lockdown, he could not go back to his workplace,” the officer added. He was produced before a court and his four days of police custody remand has been taken.
The second accused Khempreet was also actively involved in the Red Fort violence. During analysis of videos available on case record, he along with other associates was seen carrying big spears and assaulting police personnel on duty inside the Red Fort well area, said police. A total of 14 people have been arrested so far in the Red Fort violence case. More than 500 police personnel injured during the violent clashes.