Bittu Bajrangi, notorious in the news for his allegedly vigilante activities against Muslims has again made the news – this time for beating a Hindu man in front of the police. As per news reports, Bajrangi beat the man, saying he thought he was a Muslim. Bajrangi is reportedly the former head of Faridabad division of Gau Raksha Bajrang Force.
The incident took place on April 1, 2024, when a video recording was uploaded online where Bajrangi can be seen beating a man on the pretext of him being a Muslim. The incident was caught on camera following which the police registered an FIR based on the complaint of the man named Shyam. The man, according to the complaint, was going to buy some chocolates when Bajrangi, along with some men from the Goraksha Bajrang Force, dragged the man to his house and beat him, ‘accusing’ him of being Muslim. The victim has claimed that Bajrangi threatened to kill him.
#BreakingNews: Nuh violence accused #BittuBajrangi has been arrested after his video of assaulting a man went viral. pic.twitter.com/KGrbG4DtwT
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) April 8, 2024
Bajrangi and the men with him have been booked under the Indian Penal Code sections of 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (acts done by several persons with common intention).
In 2023, despite trying to flee his arrest, Bajrangi was also arrested last year on August 15 on charges of instigating communal violence in the Muslim-majority Mewat region of Haryana.
The resulting communal turmoil led to targeted attacks against Muslims in various districts of Haryana and Delhi-NCR. These anti-Muslim assaults persisted for four days, resulting in six deaths and leaving over 88 people injured.
However, he was soon released on bail on August 30 2023 by Nuh Session Court by additional district and sessions judge Sandeep Kumar. The sessions court had issued conditions on his bail, one of which included that he would not make any public statements after his release, especially on social media.
However, he had reportedly violated these bail conditions soon. On November 4 in Faridabad, Bajrangi had given a hate speech calling for the economic boycott of Muslims. In his speech, he asked Hindus to boycott Muslim sellers while shopping during the Diwali festival.
He was reportedly recorded making the following statements, “During the festival of Diwali, I would urge our sisters and brothers to not buy from demons. I want us to identify the sellers before buying so that we only buy from our Hindu brothers because if Muslims earn, they use that money to cut our holy cows, our mothers and our sisters. In the regions where these people are present in less numbers, there they talk about brotherhood. But in the regions that they are present in majority, they subject our mothers and sisters to torture. You all remember what happened in Mewat. This is why I am requesting all my sisters and brothers to only buy Diwali material from their Hindu brothers. We are not concerned with anyone else. I also want to remind all my sisters and daughters that their brother Bittu Bajrangi will be available for them at all hours of the day. I want to dedicate my life to saving my daughters and sisters from these demons.”
Similarly, this is not an isolated incident of hate in which Bajrangi has been reportedly involved after his bail was granted. In Faridabad, Haryana, Bittu Bajrangi had also reportedly disrupted the wedding of a couple who belonged to two different faiths. Bajrangi was seen in a video shared on X, formerly Twitter, encircling the young couple with his group of men.
On November 10, 2023, Citizens for Justice and Peace, noting that his actions violated his bail conditions, filed a complaint in the Nuh Police Station against his speech made in Faridabad on November 4, 2023 where he had targeted the Muslim community and encouraged calls for boycotting them economically. CJP argued that Bajrangi was creating fear around the Muslim community which could lead to an atmosphere of fear and hatred against them. CJP had urged for the cancellation of his bail application after highlighting that he had violated his bail conditions, citing Section 437 (5) and Section 439(2) Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
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