Police have charged VHP local president Sharad Inamdar, district president Dhanaji Shinde and Nitin Vatkar along with over 250 others for allegedly taking out the rally without prior permission and under relevant sections of the Arms Act and Bombay Police Act.
The Shobhayatra was held at Nigdi on Sunday evening; videos
Mumbai: Around 250 Vishwa Hindu Parishad functionaries were booked for allegedly brandishing air guns and swords during a procession on Sunday in Nigdi in the Pimpri Chinchwad area of Pune, police said.
An offence was registered with Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissionerate against the office-bearers of the outfit on Monday.
Police said the VHP’s Western Maharashtra wing organised a ‘Shobha Yatra’ in Yamunanagar area on Sunday at 5 pm to mark the conclusion of ‘Durgavahini Shaurya Prashikshan Varga’.
Police have charged VHP local president Sharad Inamdar, district president Dhanaji Shinde and Nitin Vatkar along with over 250 others for allegedly taking out the rally without prior permission and under relevant sections of the Arms Act and Bombay Police Act.
“The outfit carried out a shobha yatra, largely comprising women, in Yamunanagar area on Sunday evening despite permission being denied by the police. We spotted air rifles in the hands of four girls and swords were brandished by five girls,” the Nigdi police station official informed.
“We have taken suo motu case at Bigdi police station. We are yet to verify what kind of air rifles were exhibited during the procession. They were emanating a huge sound when the trigger was pressed,” he added.
The official said the VHP procession was a violation of the prohibitory orders issued under the Bombay Police Act, 1951 for Pimpri Chinchwad police commissionerate area, effective from May 21 to June 3.
“These orders prohibit carrying of arms, cudgels, swords, spears, bludgeons, guns, knives, sticks or lathis, or any other article, which is capable of being used for causing physical violence,” he said, adding that no arrests had been made so far.
In a separate incident, the right-wing Hindutva group Bajrang Dal allegedly gave weapon training to students, including minors at a Mira Road school in Mumbai from May 25-June 1. The Thane Police is investigating the matter after an NGO approached senior officials.
According to a report in The Hindu, members of the NGO Democratic Youth Federation of India on Wednesday approached Navghar police after a person named Prakash Gupta shared pictures of the training camp held at a school owned by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Narendra Mehta. Gupta had posted pictures of boys loading and handling rifles on the school campus. He had also mentioned in the post that the training was to be held from May 25 to June 1.
Democratic Youth Federation of India Secretary Sanjay Pande claimed that some of the children seemed to be minors. He added that the police were initially not willing to pay heed to their complaint. The members of the NGO later met Sub Divisional Police Officer Atul Kulkarni on Friday, who assured them of taking “necessary action”, Pande told The Hindu.