DN&V Correspondent
New Delhi, January 31 On the day the Election Commission barred BJP union minister of state Anurag Thakur from Delhi poll campaigns for three days, for egging on a crowd to chant “desh ke gaddaron ko goli maaro saalon ko” (shoot the traitors of the nation), a man shot at protesters at a peaceful march near Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia, injuring a student. Students were marching from the university to Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial in Delhi; Thursday (January 30) was the 72nd anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination. The injured student was identified as Shadab Farooq, a mass communication student at Jamia, hailing from Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district; the bullet hit his left arm and he is being treated at AIIMS.
In a video of the event shared on social media, the man, who wore no mask and left his face uncovered despite a sizeable presence of Delhi Police in the vicinity, can be seen brandishing a gun and shouting “Yeh lo azaadi (here’s your freedom)…Hindustan zindabad…Delhi Police zindabad”. The police overpowered the man after he fired his gun and arrested him. He was later identified as Rambhagat Gopal Sharma from Uttar Pradesh’s Jewar, not far from Delhi. There are reports that he is a minor.
The NDTV reports that the shooter had gone live on Facebook minutes before he shot at the protesters. His Facebook profile, under the name “Rambhakt Gopal”, had a post that read (translated to English): “On my last journey, drape me in saffron and shout slogans of Jai Shri Ram.” Facebook later said it had taken down the gunman’s account.
There is no clarity yet on how he acquired the single-barrel gun; it appeared to be a country-made gun. Possession of an unlicensed country-made gun is against the arms act.
The Aam Aadmi Party called out Thakur and BJP for inciting violence and blamed Union Home Minister Amit Shah for “political pressure” on Delhi Police. Note: Delhi police reports to the Union Home Ministry. The incident triggered protests near Jamia and elsewhere in Delhi.
The Election Commission has also barred BJP MP Parvesh Verma for four days from campaigning in the Delhi polls.
