Clean air protest: National integration charge added to FIR for 'raising pro-Maoist slogans'

The Delhi Police has invoked charges under 'imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration' in one of the FIRs registered against a group of protesters who allegedly raised pro-Maoist slogans and used pepper spray on police personnel during an anti-pollution demonstration at the India Gate on Sunday, an official said on Tuesday.

On Monday, the Delhi Police told a court here that the group of protesters arrested for allegedly using pepper spray on cops raised slogans hailing slain Maoist leader Madvi Hidma.

The police have registered two different FIRs -- one at the Kartavya Path police station against six protesters and the other at the Sansad Marg police station against 17 people.

The new section has been added to the Kartavya Path FIR. After the accused were produced before two magisterial courts, 22 were sent to judicial custody.

The newly-added Section 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertains to imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration, which includes charges for disseminating false information that endangers India's sovereignty, unity, or security.

The FIR said the protesters raised alleged Maoist slogans, including "Hidma amar rahe", "Kitne Hidma maroge, har ghar se Hidma nikalega" and "Hidma lal salaam", prompting the addition of Section 197 for assertions deemed prejudicial to national integration.

Top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, who masterminded several attacks over the past two decades, was killed in an encounter on November 18, a breakthrough the Chhattisgarh Police described as the "last nail in the coffin" of the insurgency.

Security forces gunned down Hidma, his wife Raje, and four other Naxalites in the action in Andhra Pradesh's Alluri Sitaramaraju district.

According to the Kartavya Path FIR, police had prior information that protesters under the banner of the Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air were planning to assemble at the India Gate.

They were also informed that activists from student groups, including AISA and the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU), were likely to join the protest.

“When we reached the spot, we found a group of men and women carrying pamphlets and banners. They were informed that protests are not allowed at the India Gate and that the Jantar Mantar is the designated site for demonstrations,” a senior police officer said.

Despite repeated warnings, several protesters climbed over barricades and entered the C-Hexagon, blocking traffic for over an hour.

As police attempted to disperse them, some protesters allegedly assaulted them. “During the scuffle, a student attacked police, and some used a bottle containing pepper spray on our officers,” police said.

Several policemen were injured and taken to the RML Hospital.

Another confrontation reportedly broke out at the Parliament Street police station when the detainees were brought there, officials said.

The Kartavya Path FIR now includes sections 74, 79, 115(2), 132, 197, 221 and 223 of the BSS, while the FIR lodged at the Parliament Street police station includes charges under BNS sections 223A, 132, 221, 121A and 126(2).