New Delhi: Delhi Police has lodged an FIR against Ragini Tiwari, a self-proclaimed Hindutva leader, who had openly threatened to end the ongoing farmers’ protest with violence in a video which went viral on social media.
“I am telling all my sisters that prepare for [December] 17,” she said in a video. “If the government does not free us from the farmers’ movement in Delhi, then Ragini Tiwari will once again create Jafrabad and whatever happens the Centre, state government and Delhi police will be responsible.”
Raghini Tiwari accepting that she incited violence in Jaffrabad. She is also threatning to create another jaffrabad like violence in Kisaan Andolan.@DelhiPolice aur kitne saboot chahiye aapko action lene ke liye iske against ? pic.twitter.com/P7LOljqKJJ
— तमन्ना ( تمنا ) (@TamannaUAH) December 12, 2020
On February 22, Jafrabad in Delhi’s northeast witnessed communal riots, a day after Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra amassed his supporters and said in the presence of police personnel that if the police did not force anti-CAA protesters to withdraw their protests, he and his followers would do so.
According to Indian Express, the FIR against Tiwari alias ‘Janki Behen’ has been registered under Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) of the Indian Penal Code.
The police will summon Tiwari – who is reportedly out of town – in coming days and are also planning to investigate her alleged role in the northeast Delhi riots, the report said.
The report added that legal opinion was sought by the northeast district police before lodging an FIR against Tiwari. After the video was flagged, deputy commissioner of police (northeast) ensured action against her and confirmed this on Twitter.
Also read: What ‘Hate Speech’ Really Means, and How the Term Is Being Misused
Several social media users pointed out that Tiwari’s video amounted to an admission that the Delhi riots were ‘created’ by the rightwing.
Two months ago, the Delhi home department had shared with the Delhi Police a video clip purportedly showing Tiwari, who delivered incendiary speeches on Facebook live in the run-up to the riots, purportedly indulging in stone pelting with rioters in front of policemen at Maujpur on February 23, Indian Express reported.
A report released by Citizens and Lawyers Initiative had said that “an environment of violence was created before Delhi riots took place”. Anti-CAA supporters took to the streets after the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, and this was followed by a rise in hate speeches, the Hindu reported.
The research report also quoted Kapil Mishra’s provocative speech in Jafrabad, and the incendiary Facebook Live posts by Ragini Tiwari saying that “they appeared to have had that effect; bolstered by rumour and misinformation on social media”.
However, it is surprising how long it took the police to register a complaint against Tiwari for giving hate speeches and creating an “environment of violence”, while Kapil Mishra is roaming around freely.