Ramdev did not incite communal enmity: Police tells court

[1]

Baba Ramdev and Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy did not incite any communal passion, leading to the beating up of a man by their followers for throwing black ink on yoga guru's face in a press meet here, the city police told a Delhi court on Wednesday.

In a report to the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Jasjeet Kaur, police said, "During the press conference, Baba Ramdev neither spoke against the Muslim community nor abetted the supporters to assault him (Kamran Siddiqui)."

"Subramanian Swamy was also with Baba Ramdev and he also did not incite any person to assault Siddiqui."

The report, which gave clean chit to Ramdev and Swamy, was filed by the police in response to the court's direction to it on a private complaint by Siddiqui, seeking prosecution of Ramdev and Swamy, allegedly for committing offences of promoting communal enmity, assaulting and dishonouring him besides trying to kill him.

The court fixed the matter for further hearing on March 6 and asked the police to file a fresh status report on Siddiqui's medical records. It also asked the police to explain as to why Siddiqui was not examined at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital instead of Lady Hardinge Hospital here.

Quoting Siddiqui's medical reports, the station house officer (SHO) of the Parliament Street police station said the the nature of injuries inflicted on him were 'simple' and no witness or evidence has been found which could substantiate the allegation that the yoga guru and his supporters incited communal passion after the ink-throwing incident on January 14 in the press meet at Constitutional Club here.

As per the medico-legal certificate (MLC), the injuries are simple and "attract invoking of section 323 (simple hurt) of the IPC which is a non-cognisable offence.

The allegation under section 153 A (promoting enmity between classes), 355 (assault with intent to dishonour a person) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC could not be proved," the status report said.

Siddiqui, posing as a media person, had attended the yoga guru's press conference and had asked some questions on Ramdev's view on the Batla House encounter and statements of Congress leader Digvijay Singh on it. Siddiqui, who could not get a response from Ramdev, later threw black ink on his face and was, in turn, roughed up by guru's supporters, the police said.

During the arguments, Siddiqui told the court that he was mercilessly beaten up by the supporters of Ramdev and Swamy as also by the policemen deployed at the press conference.

He also denied the allegation that he intentionally threw ink on the face of Ramdev. "After Baba Ramdev refused to answer my questions, I asked for his autograph and as there was a huge crowd at the press conference, the bottle of the ink slipped out of my hand by mistake and it fell on Ramdev's face," he said.

''I am receiving life threats for filing the complaint against Ramdev and Swamy,'' he said.