The two absconding youth involved in the assault on Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan over his comments on Kashmir were arrested by the Delhi Police from near the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara in the capital Thursday morning.
26-year-old Delhi resident Tejender Pal Singh Bagga and his accomplice Vishnu Gupta had fled after attacking Bhushan yesterday, their third accomplice While Verma was apprehended yesterday itself. The three had barged into Prashant Bhushan’s chamber inside the Supreme Court and assaulted him.
Bagga, who is a resident of Vishu Garden in North West Delhi, and Vishnu Gupta had formed the Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena earlier this year. Bagga is said to be a former member of BJP Yuva Morcha. They were later joined by Inder Verma, an activist of Sri Ram Sene.
They are said to be upset with Bhushan over his recent comments favouring plebiscite in Kashmir. The noted lawyer had gone to Varanasi two weeks ago where during a press conference he was asked if he would favour a referendum in Kashmir. He had replied that there could be a referendum. It is this comment that angered the group.
Immediately after the attack, Bagga had tweeted: “He try (sic) to break my nation, I try to break his head. Hisab chukta. Congrats to all. Operation Prashant Bhushan successful.”
Prashant Bhushan assault: Absconding youth arrested
Followed by another one: “We hit Prashant Bhushan hard in his chamber in Supreme Court. If you will try to break my nation, I will break your heads.”
Inder Verma, who is said to be Sri Ram Sene’s Delhi unit president, told reporters: “We had gone to seek his response about his statement on Kashmir. He had talked about giving away Kashmir to Pakistan, which we strongly protest. It’s an insult to martyrs and this will not be tolerated in India.”
The activists had scattered pamphlets with the name of Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena after beating Bhushan.
Prashant Bhushan assault: Absconding youth arrested
The attack was widely condemned. Home Minister P Chidambaram said, “Nobody has the right to take law in their hands and I have asked Delhi Police to take appropriate action against the people involved in the attack.”
Anna Hazare condemned the attack on Bhushan, a key member of his team, and demanded security for his aides for “some time.”
“No words are enough to describe this barbaric act. Strictest punishment should be given to these people and the true identity of these people should be found,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.
Condemning the attack, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said: “Whatever is the due process of law, it should be taken on this. BJP has nothing to do with these people,”