New Delhi: Former BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja has been booked by the Alwar Police for allegedly promoting hatred and enmity after he was caught on camera saying that his supporters have so far "lynched five people" for cow smuggling.
According to news agency PTI, SHO of Govindgarh police station, Shiv Shankar, informed that the case was registered by police on the basis of the video that surfaced after the former MLA visited the family of 45-year-old Chiranjilal Saini, who was lynched by Mev Muslim community members on suspicion of tractor theft, on Friday last.
Saini died during treatment at Jaipur’s state-run SMS Hospital on Monday.
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In the video, the BJP leader interrupts a speaker who was urging a group of people to launch an agitation against the lynching of Saini.
"We have so far lynched five people, be it in Lawandi or Behror. This has happened for the first time in this area that they have lynched someone. I have given free hand to workers to kill. We will get them acquitted and secure bail," the former MLA says, referring to the Pehlu Khan and Rakbar Khan lynching cases.
Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra shared the video on Twitter and stated it has exposed the BJP’s true face.
"What more proof is needed of the BJP's religious terror and bigotry? The real face of the BJP has been exposed," he said.
Disclaimer: Strong language used in video, viewer discretion advised. ABP could not independently check the veracity of the video.
BJP 'Does Not Have This Thinking': Party's Alwar (South) Chief
As the remarks sparked a controversy, BJP's Alwar (South) chief Sanjay Singh Naruka told PTI that the party "does not have this thinking". "These are his own views," he added.
According to SHO Shiv Shankar, the FIR against Gyan Dev Ahuja was registered under section IPC 153-A for promoting hatred and enmity on the grounds of religion.
When contacted for his response, the former Ramgarh MLA told PTI that anyone involved in cow smuggling and slaughter won’t be spared.
The MLA said he was sitting with a local RSS leader who suggested launching of agitation to protest against the lynching of Saini. The he told the speaker that five Mev Muslims who were smuggling cows were "beaten up by our workers", Ahuja told PTI.
"It is the Mev people who smuggle and slaughter cow and Hindus have sentiments for cows, therefore, they target such smugglers," he said, asserting that it was his duty to protect his workers.
In recent years, at least two incidents have taken place in Alwar wherein cow vigilantes attacked Mev community people on allegations of cow smuggling.
In one such incident, 55-year-old Pehlu Khan was lynched in Behror on April 1, 2017. Similarly, Rakbar Khan died after being beaten up in Lawandi village in Alwar's Ramgarh on July 20, 2018 on suspicion of cow smuggling.