Agnivesh beaten up by alleged BJP youth wing mob in Jharkhand

RANCHI: Social activist Swami Agnivesh was thrashed by an alleged mob of BJP youth wing workers in Jharkhand’s Pakur district on Tuesday, police said.

Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das directed the state home secretary to probe the incident.

Agnivesh was in Pakur to address a gathering at a tribal festival organised to commemorate the 195th foundation day of Damin-i-koh , a hilly, forested land allocated to Santhals by the British .

Pakur superintendent of police Shailendra Barnwal said: “The organisers had not informed police about the visit of Agnivesh. As soon as we got information about the incident, additional forces were sent for his security.”

Agnivesh suspected it to be a “sponsored assault”. “I demand a thorough judicial probe into the issue,” he told mediapersons at Pakur.

The incident took place outside a hotel, where Agnivesh was staying. The alleged Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha workers held demonstrations holding black flags outside the hotel against Agnivesh’s visit.

He was dragged, beaten up and his cloth was torn by the protestors, police said.

Pakur BJYM president Prasanna Mishra, however, rejected the allegation of assault. “We were protesting peacefully. Agnivesh came here to mislead innocent tribals and misguide them against the state government...to deliver speech sponsored by missionaries. We did not attack him but his men assaulted us.

Our workers were badly injured in the incident.”