Advocate arrested in Shobha Yatra sword brandishing case

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Gurugram, June 21

Hindu right leader and advocate Kulbhushan Bhardwaj was arrested on Wednesday in connection with a Shobha Yatra in which some people were seen brandishing swords near a mosque, the police have said.

Bhardwaj, a former president of the District Bar Association, was later let off on bail granted by the court.

He will be produced before the court again on Thursday, said the police.

Bhardwaj, who was part of the Shobha Yatra, called the city police station on Wednesday to join the investigation. After he was interrogated, he was arrested.

As the news of his arrest spread, some people belonging to Hindu organisations reached the city police station and raised slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” and started protesting.

The protesters expressed their opposition to Bhardwaj’s arrest, saying that if an FIR was registered for taking out the Shobha Yatra, they would continue to do so in the future as well.

The Shobha Yatra was taken out on April 2 on Ram Navami and hundreds of people from various Hindu organisations participated in it. The yatra started from Sector 5. When it reached near a mosque in the Sadar Bazar area, some of the participants brandished swords.

After watching the video on social media, the police had taken suo motu cognisance and registered an FIR under Sections 153-A, 504 and 144 of the IPC at the city police station. The police had then issued a statement that some people took out a yatra without permission. When the yatra reached Sadar Bazar, some anti-social elements raised slogans and waved swords with the intention of disturbing social harmony and peace, they had said.

Let off on bail

• Advocate Kulbhushan Bhardwaj let off on bail
• He will be produced before court on Thursday
• He is a former president of the District Bar Association