3rd suspect nabbed from Hoshiarpur
NEW DELHI: The police on Wednesday said they have arrested Iqbal Singh, who alleged instigated protesters gathered at the Red Fort, vandalised property, and clashed with security personnel during the tractor rally taken out by the farmers on Republic Day.
Singh was arrested from Hoshiarpur in Punjab on Tuesday night, the third suspect in the Red Fort violence case to be apprehended. Police arrested Punjabi actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu at the Karnal bypass in Haryana on Monday, and Sukhdev Singh in Chandigarh on Sunday.
Deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said Iqbal Singh delivered a “provocative speech” and “instigated the mob to storm Red Fort and hoist religious flags”. Iqbal also “intimidated” police personnel during the violence at the monument, he added after Iqbal’s initial interrogation at the special cell’s Rohini office on Wednesday.
“Iqbal Singh was very excited... He did a Facebook live from the Red Fort and can be heard instigating people to climb onto the fort. He was not taking any instructions from farmer leaders and wasn’t in touch with them,” said DCP Yadav.
Iqbal Singh denied the police’s charges.
Hundreds of farmers protesting on Delhi’s borders against the three farm laws passed by Parliament in September entered Delhi deviating from the routes approved for a tractor rally and clashed with the police at several locations. One farmer died and 10 others were injured. More than 500 police personnel suffered injuries in the violence.
Iqbal Singh was sent to seven days in police custody by a city court, where the police told the magistrate that he was allegedly one of the main conspirators behind the “well-planned” violence. “There are hundreds of videos. We need to confront him with all these. We need to find out who are the people who came with him and who are they affiliated with….He was one of the main instigators. This was a conspiracy,” the police said in the court. The investigating officer also said that Iqbal’s alleged link to Deep Sidhu also needed to be ascertained.
Iqbal Singh denied instigating protesters. “I did not come to cause violence. I did not plan to go to Red Fort. When I reached there emotions flared. Whatever I did is there on my live video. I did not instigate anyone,” he said in the court. A resident of Ludhiana in Punjab, he was among the eight key suspects in the Red Fort violence case against whom the city police had announced a total reward of Rs 6 lakh.
“We caught Iqbal at around 11.30pm on Tuesday night from Hoshiarpur following information that we collected and developed through technical surveillance. Iqbal is a Granthi (ceremonial reader) and he used to visit several gurdwaras,” said DCP Yadav.
Investigators said Iqbal frequented the Singhu border protest site near Delhi since November last year. He last visited Singhu border on on January 22 along with thousands of farmers from various place in Punjab for participating in the Republic Day tractor march, they said.
“On January 26 around 12.30pm, Iqbal reached the Red Fort along with other protesters on a tractor. He was among the crowd that allegedly stormed the Red Fort, involved in clashes with security personnel and hoisted religious and farmers union’s flags,” a police officer said, quoting Iqbal’s alleged disclosures to the police.
From Red Fort, he returned to Singhu border and stayed there till late night, before leaving for Mohali with other farmers. From Mohali, he returned to his home in Ludhiana and stayed there till November 29.
When he learnt that he was one of a suspect, he left for Amritsar with his wife and then went to Ropar. On February 7, he went to his sister’s home in Amritsar and left for Hoshiarpur, from where we caught him on the night of February 9,” said another police officer.