Four Hindutva men-Chandan Singh Lodhiyal, Umesh Mehta, Rajkumar Mehta, and Krishna Singh Bisht Rajkumar Mehta- were arrested on Thursday for setting Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid’s home in Uttarakhand’s Nainital city on fire.
The incident had taken place on Monday amid Hindutva politicians including tall BJP leaders launched a vicious campaign against senior Congress politician who equated political Hindutva with the Islamic State and Boko Haram in his latest book “Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times.” BJP said Khurshid’s remark has hurt the sentiments of Hindus.
Police said a pistol was also recovered from one of the accused. They have been booked under different sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Nilesh Anand Bharne told PTI news agency.
According to Times of India, the police had booked 21 persons in connection with the incident. They formed three teams to identify arrest the accused persons.
One of the accused persons said that he and his associates burnt effigies of Khurshid and shouted slogans outside his house, the newspaper reported.
A group of Hindutva activists went to the Congress leader’s home on Monday to shout Hindutva slogans against him and they got into an argument with the caretaker of the property after which they vandalised it.
Visuals shared by Khurshid on Facebook showed tall flames, charred doors, and shattered window panes at his home.
“I hoped to open these doors to my friends who have left this calling card. Am I still wrong to say this cannot be Hinduism?” his post minutes after the incident read.
“So such is debate now. Shame is too ineffective a word. Besides I still hope that we can reason together one day and agree to disagree if not more,” he further said.
