New Delhi (PTI): The Vishva Hindu Parishad on Wednesday disassociated itself from cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi arrested in connection with the communal clashes in Haryana's Nuh district.
"Raj Kumar alias Bittu Bajrangi, who is said to be a Bajrang Dal worker, has never had any relation with Bajrang Dal. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) also does not consider the content of the video allegedly released by him to be appropriate," the right-wing outfit said in a statement.
Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the VHP.
Bajrangi was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the communal clashes that erupted in Nuh on July 31, police said.
He was questioned in connection with a fresh FIR registered against him and 15-20 others at Nuh's Sadar Police Station based on a complaint filed by Assistant Superintendent of Police Usha Kundu.
Police said Bajrangi, the president of an outfit called the Goraksha Bajrang Force, was initially detained by a Crime Investigation Agency team of Tauru from Faridabad and taken for questioning.
A spokesperson of Nuh Police later said he had been arrested and would be produced in a city court on Wednesday.
The FIR against Bajrangi and the others has been registered under Indian Penal Code sections 148 (riots), 149 (unlawful assembly), 332 (causing hurt), 353, 186 (obstructing a public servant from discharging duty), 395, 397 (armed robbery), and 506 (criminal intimidation) and provisions of the Arms Act, police said.
A senior police officer said Bajrangi and his associates wielded illegal weapons during the VHP procession that came under attack in Muslim-majority Nuh on July 31.
Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the clashes that also spread to nearby regions.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Damascus (AP/PTI): Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said in a video statement that the government is ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government.
“I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country,” Jalili said.
He said he would go to his office to continue work in the morning and called on Syrian citizens not to deface public property.
He did not address reports that President Bashar Assad has left the country.
There was no immediate comment from the United Arab Emirates on Assad's whereabouts. Assad's family has extensive real estate holdings in Dubai.