Tag: swords

VHP Leader Promises Free ‘Licensed’ Swords, Sticks and Knives After Training

Swords and blades over nine inches in length and which are not kitchen appliances require a licence under the Arms Act.

New Delhi: An official of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Varanasi announced recently that along with kung fu training, “licensed” swords, knives and sticks will be distributed for free, The Hindu has reported.

The newspaper reported that the training is being provided at Varanasi’s Bal Upasana Kendra, near Lohiyanagar, in Sarnath area.

In a Facebook post, which has been deleted, Sanjay Hindu Sinha, who claims to be the VHP’s Kashi Mahanagar joint-general secretary, had said:

“Free of cost training of lathi (sticks) for 15-days, knives for one month, swords for one month and kung fu for three months, after which licence of swords with sticks and knives will be given for free. Training place is Bal Upasana Kendra located in Lohia Nagar, Ashapur. Limited seats, register today, membership fee, Rs 100.”

According to Dainik Bhaskar, the post was shared on Saturday, December 3. It was shared multiple times on social media.

According to Hindu, the Varanasi police is likely to initiate an inquiry into the matter.

VHP’s Kashi metropolitan president Kanhaiya Singh told Dainik Bhaskar that Sinha made this announcement in his personal capacity, and the organisation or any workers have nothing to do with it.

Swords and blades over nine inches in length and which are not kitchen appliances require a licence under the Arms Act.

Under the Arms Act, carrying weapons without a licence is punishable with a jail term and a fine.

Under Rule 8 of the Arms Act Rules, 2016, a person holding a licence for firearms or any other arms, which includes swords and blades with sharp edges, is barred from “resorting to the brandishing of firearms in a public place nor shall he carry or discharge a firearm in a built-up area or any public place on the occasion of marriage, public assembly, fair, procession or any public event.”

Hindutva organisations, such as the Bajrang Dal and the VHP, are known to offer arms training to their volunteers.

For instance, Durga Vahini, the women’s wing of the VHP, had in 2018 organised a camp in Agra where women were trained how to fire a rifle and other weapons in the name of self-defence.

The VHP had justified the arms training as ‘physical exercise’, Financial Express had reported.

In May this year, at least 200 persons were booked for brandishing swords during a Durga Vahini rally in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram.

In 2017, the Congress had alleged that arms training was being provided to the Bajrang Dal and VHP volunteers in Assam to “terrorise”, Hindustan Times had reported. It had demanded action against those “practising this without a valid licence”.

West Bengal Mamata Banerjee had also hit out at the VHP for openly giving arms to its cadres, saying that right-wing groups had tried to do the same in Coochbehar district, but the state government didn’t allow such exercises.

In 2019, around 250 VHP functionaries, including the organisation’s local president, were booked for allegedly brandishing air guns and swords during a procession in Pune’s Pimpri Chinchwad area.

‘Attacked With Swords’, Punjab Police Kills Two Nihangs

The two Nihangs – traditional Sikh warriors – were wanted in a murder case.

Tarn Taran (Punjab): Two Nihangs, traditional Sikh warriors, were shot dead by police during an encounter after the duo attacked policemen with swords at a village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran on S–unday, officials said.

The two Nihangs, identified as Mehatab Singh and Gurdev Singh, were wanted in a murder case at Nanded in Maharashtra, they said.

Also read: Punjab: 7 Held for Attacking Police Team, Chopping Policeman’s Hand

After their mobile location was traced in Sursingh village, the Nanded Police alerted the police in Punjab and a team of two SHOs were sent to nab them. The two accused attacked the SHOs with swords, leaving them critically injured, police said.

Thereafter, a heavy police force was called on the spot and an encounter broke out between the accused and police personnel in which the two Nihangs were shot dead. Meanwhile, both the injured SHOs – Balwinder Singh and Narinder Singh – were admitted to a private hospital in Amritsar.

Republic Day Violence: Delhi Police Arrests Man Seen Swinging Swords at Red Fort

Police said the man was swinging swords with the intent of “motivating” and “energising” protesters at Red Fort during the violence on Republic Day.

New Delhi: A 30-year-old man allegedly seen swinging swords with the intent of “motivating” and “energising” protesters at Red Fort during the violence on Republic Day has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.

Maninder Singh, who runs a sword training school near his home in Swaroop Nagar in northwest Delhi and works as a car AC mechanic, was arrested around 7:45 pm on Tuesday near the C D block bus stop in nearby Pitampura, police said.

“Singh was seen in a video swinging two swords at Red Fort with the intent of motivating or radicalising and energising violent anti-national elements indulging in brutal assault and attacking police persons on duty with swords, ‘khandas’, iron rods, axes, ‘barsaas’, sticks etc and damaging the historical Red Fort on Republic Day,” deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said in a statement.

Also read: Red Fort Violence: Court Extends Deep Sidhu’s Police Custody By Seven Days

Over 120 people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence across Delhi on January 26, 2021, officials said.

Clashes broke out between protesters and police during the tractor parade called by farmer unions to highlight their demand for a rollback of the Centre’s three farm laws. Many protesters reached the Red Fort on tractors and entered the monument, some hoisting religious flags on the flagstaff and its domes.

Singh was “radicalised” by seeing provoking Facebook posts of various groups, police said, adding he would frequently visit the Singhu border and was “highly motivated” by speeches made by leaders there.

According to police, Singh also “motivated” six people from the neighbourhood who had accompanied the tractor parade that headed from Singhu border towards the Mukarba Chowk.

Also read: Gurmukh Singh, Arrested for Republic Day Violence, Alleges ‘False Charges’, Assault by Police

Two swords – 4.3-foot-long khandas – used by Singh have been recovered from his house, police said.

According to the plan, Singh, five of his associates and other unknown armed men entered the Red Fort, where he did a sword dance. “That sword dance motivated violent protesters to cause more mayhem at Red Fort by indulging in all sorts of violence against public servants, including policemen on duty there, and causing damage to the Red Fort,” Kushwah said.

The video of him swinging swords at the Red Fort was found on his mobile phone. Other photos of his presence at the Singhu border are also there, police said, adding that an investigation is on.