Shaheen Bagh shooter warmly welcomed, then coldly expelled by BJP

Kapil Baisla Gujjar, who opened fire at Shaheen Bagh was officially welcomed into the BJP, then reportedly sacked after massive public outrage

Image Courtesy:indiatoday.in

On February 1, 2020, Kapil Gujjar had reportedly fired gunshots twice near the Shaheen Bagh anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest venue. He had proclaimed, “Sirf Hinduon ka raj chalega (Only Hindus will rule),” soon after the Delhi Police arrested him on the spot and two empty shells of fired bullets were also recovered from the site. On February 6, the Delhi Police had told the court that the shooting was a “well-thought-out” incident.

On Wednesday December 30, 2020 Gujjar formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. He had been warmly welcomed with garlands and sweets at his official membership ceremony at the saffron party unit at Ghaziabad Uttar Pradesh.

 

However, following massive public outrage, Gujjar was “expelled from the BJP hours after the party inducted him,” reported NDTV. Soon after he  was arrested in February, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), Rajesh Deo, had released photos of Gujjar with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders saying that he had joined the party a year ago along with his father. However, Gujjar’s own  father contradicted the claims of the Delhi Police saying, “He was a follower of Modi and Amit Shah. My son always speaks of Hindustan and Hindutva.”

 

In March, Gujjar was granted bail by the Saket District Court in the shooting case, his advocate Narveer Dabas had told the court, “It is further submitted that the applicant has clean antecedents and he has never been involved in any other case in the past.”

Granting bail to Baisla, Additional Sessions Judge Gulshan Kumar had reportedly said, “On considering the totality of facts and circumstances, the accused Kapil Baisala is admitted to bail on furnishing bail bond in a sum of Rs 25,000 with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Metropolitan Magistrate.” 

Gujjar had reportedly shouted “Jai Sri Ram” when he fired the gun near Shaheeb Bagh protest, which mostly had women and children peacefully sitting on dharna. The NDTV reported that a witness recalled, “We suddenly heard gunshots… This person was shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’. He had a semi-automatic pistol and he fired two rounds. The police were standing just behind him.”

Gujjar, was apprehended and taken away by police officers, and kept chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and identified himself as a resident of Dallupura, a locality in East Delhi. He was given a warm reception by his fellow saffron sympathisers when he was released on bail.

Related:

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