Another arrested from Punjab in Red Fort violence case
New Delhi, Jun 30: Evading arrest for five months, a 26-year-old man who allegedly hoisted a religious flag at the Red Fort during the violence on Republic Day has been nabbed from Punjab by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, officials said on Wednesday.
The accused Buta Singh was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000, they said and claimed that his family and neighbours tried to stop a police team from arresting him when it reached his native village on Tuesday.
Police said Singh was present at the Red Fort during the violence that occurred at a tractor rally against the Centre's new agri laws and had claimed to have hoisted the religious flag at the Fort.
The arrest came days after another accused in the Red Fort violence case, Gurjot Singh, who was carrying a reward of Rs one lakh, was held near Gurudwara Shri Toot Sahib in Amritsar by the Special Cell.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Monika Bhardwaj said, We received specific information about Buta Singh and a team was sent to Punjab which managed to trace him. Subsequently, a raid was conducted at his village in Talwandi Sobha Singh.
But our raiding team had to face strong resistance from his family and neighbours who tried to get Singh out of police custody. They tried to block roads with their tractors but with the help of local police, our team finally managed to come out from the village along with accused Singh, she said.
Singh was seen in a video along with his associates at Red Fort in which they claimed they have hoisted the religious flag at the main flag hoisting area, the officer said.
During interrogation, he disclosed that he was radicalised by seeing Facebook posts of various groups. He used to frequently visit Singhu Border and was highly motivated by speeches made by the leaders there, she said.
According to police, as per their plan, Singh with his five-six associates and other unknown armed miscreants entered Red Fort and created mayhem there.
"His act of hoisting the flag had motivated already violent protesters to cause more mayhem at Red Fort by indulging in all sorts of violence against personnel on duty including policemen deployed for Republic Day security duty there and damaging the historical monument of Red Fort," the senior police officer said.
Thousands of farmers protesting the Centre's new agri laws had clashed with the police during the tractor parade on January 26.
Many of the protesters, driving tractors, reached the Red Fort and entered the monument. Some protesters even hoisted religious flags on its ramparts, where the national flag is unfurled on Independence Day.
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Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
