'The Bajrang Dal on Saturday asked people who plan to organise garba and dandiya events in Hyderabad to check the Aadhaar cards of those who intend to participate in the celebrations to “check entry of those belonging to non-Hindu communities”...'
'Soon after a key accused in the mob violence in Bulandshahr district in December 2018 was granted bail, the wife of slain police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh claimed a threat to her life and asked the Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh to “kill her” so that there will be no complaint in the case anymore. The Allahabad High Court on September 25 granted bail to the district convenor of Bajrang Dal, Yogesh Raj, one of the key accused in the Bulandshahr mob violence case.
'The independent probe, which has been endorsed by various human rights organisations, alleges that the Rajasthan police sought to diminish the enormity of the crime from the outset... An independent fact-finding report, released on Friday at the Press Club of India, points at glaring gaps in the investigation carried out by the Rajasthan police in the Pehlu Khan lynching case. Khan was killed by a group of so-called gau rakshaks in Alwar in April this year when he was returning home after purchasing cattle.
'Twenty-three years after it was banned following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the Bajrang Dal on December 6 this year renewed its pledge for a Ram temple at the mosque site. The anniversary of the demolition is technically a day of “valour” (Shaurya Diwas) for the Hindutva outfit. This year, however, Shaurya Diwas wasn’t subdued as in many past years. There were elaborate press releases and there was heightened activity on right-wing Twitter handles in support of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.
'From all accounts, Superintendent of Police Pankaj Choudhary played a stellar role in ensuring that three deliberately crafted incidents of violence in Nainwa and Khanpur in Bundi district, Rajasthan, didn’t turn into a bloody communal riot. Among the measures he took was to arrest 11 activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal.
'Bajrang Dal will observe the 23rd anniversary of the Babri mosque demolition on Sunday as “Shourya Divas” (Valour Day). While the organisation has been observing the day all these years, the context of the recent death of Ashok Singhal, leader of the VHP, its parent organisation, and the Sangh Parivar’s reiteration of its commitment to build a Ram temple as the “true” tribute to him, has made the event, otherwise “routine”, acquire greater symbolic importance...
'For all its rhetoric, the two-day special discussion in Parliament on “Commitment to the Constitution” has done little to dispel the concerns of civil society over growing intolerance. But it should be no surprise, for in his earlier avatar as chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi has a record of disclaiming knowledge of such a warning even from one of his own trusted police officers.
'A Muslim barber refused to shut shop “as per custom”, triggering a riot by indignant members of the Hindu community at Nelliyadi village, 70 km from Mangalore, in Karnataka on Tuesday. Though the violence was brought under control a few hours after it erupted around 4 pm, dozens of people were injured and property worth lakhs destroyed in the melee. Bajrang Dal leader Ravi Ballya told HT that the trouble started when the barber, Salman, refused to “respect local sentiments” and keep his shop shut on Tuesdays. “It is well-known that Hindus don’t cut their hair on Tuesdays.
'Ranchi witnessed city-wide violence following a bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Saturday. The police, however, ensured the situation did not spiral out of control. The bandh call was given following communal violence in the Lower Hinoo locality Friday night. An unidentified youth and the cameraperson of a news channel were injured in Saturday’s violence. Police spokesperson and ADG (Operations) S N Pradhan said 65 people had been detained, but no arrests had been made...
'The murder of a Bajrang Dal activist has made Karnataka tense . The Hindutva groups are calling it "revenge" for the lynching of a Muslim in distant Dadri, UP, for allegedly eating beef. Prashant Poojary, 29, was killed in Moodabidri, Dakshina Kannada, on 9 October, according to reports. Poojary had actively worked to close slaughterhouses in the district. He was allegedly murdered by six people who came on motorcycles, wearing masks and wielding knives. It was on the cards, perhaps.
