2 arrested for burning religious texts, statute

Provocative incident took place at India Gate on Aug. 15

The youths cited their disbelief in the Constitution as the reason behind the move

Two vexed and disgruntled youths torched religious books and the Constitution of India on August 15 at India Gate, one of the most secured places in the national capital at that time.

The incident took place 48 hours after a member of a fringe group, Azad Sena, was arrested for burning the Constitution during a protest at Parliament Street. He was booked under the stringent Sections of Prevention of Insults of National Honour Act and the Indian Penal Code ( IPC).

Provocative incidents such as these have been occurring regularly in the national capital despite

the Delhi police claiming to turn the national capital, Lutyens’ Zone in particular, into a fortress.

The Delhi police, however, later arrested the duo after an onlooker informed it about the incident.

A police official, on the condition of anonymity, said that the duo was identified as Shakeel and Madan.

According to police sources, Shakeel is a resident of Bulandshahr in UP while Madan is a resident of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The youths came to India Gate on August 15 with five books — Bible, Quaran, Geeta, Guru Granth Sahib, and the Constitution of India — and set them on fire. A passerby witnessed this incident and informed us,” police said.

Immediately, a police team was rushed to the spot and the duo was taken to Tilak Marg police station, where they were grilled.

During interrogation, the arrested youths cited their disbelief in the Constitution as the reason behind the move.

They told the police that they had no faith either in the Constitution or in the religious texts. They added that the bone of contention in all arguments is the sacred books and hence they wanted to burn them.

“We have lodged an FIR under Section 2 of Insult to National Honours Act and 153 of the IPC. They were produced before Patiala house courts, which sent them to 14 days’ judicial custody,” police said.

A couple of days ago JNU student leader Umar Khalid was shot by a youth while he was at the Constitutional Club for an event. Such incidents have raised questions over the security arrangements of the Delhi police during Independence Day.

Meanwhile, Delhi police officials remained tightlipped over the incident despite repeated attempts to get the official version.