Police are verifying the authenticity of the video and trying to trace the IP address from where it was uploaded
Umar Khalid
In a video uploaded on social media, two men have claimed responsibility for the attack on JNU student leader Umar Khalid in an upmarket area in Delhi on Monday, and said they would surrender before police today.
Police are on the lookout for the two men seen in the video uploaded on Facebook yesterday. In the video, the duo, who identified themselves as Darwesh Shahpur and Naveen Dalal, claimed the attack was supposed to be an "Independence Day gift" to the citizens. Police are verifying the authenticity of the video and trying to trace the IP address from where it was uploaded.
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"We respect our Constitution. But there is no provision in our Constitution to punish mad dogs. By mad dogs, we mean the JNU gang that is making the country weaker and their number is increasing. Our elders in Haryana have taught us that such people should be taught a lesson," Shahpur said in the video message. The duo also requested the police to not trouble anyone and said they would surrender at the village of Sikh revolutionary Kartar Singh Sarabha on August 17. A police team has been sent to the village.
The city police has contacted its counterparts in Punjab and Haryana to trace the two. Meanwhile, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students and teachers along with Khalid held a protest at Parliament Street today against the incident. The protest was earlier planned at Jantar Mantar, but after the police informed the participants that guidelines for protests at the venue were yet to be framed, the protesters moved near Palika Kendra. From Palika Kendra, they marched till the Parliament Street police station demanding the arrest of the accused in the case.
"I would like to thank the Modi government for killing fear inside us. There is no fear inside us now because of what we have faced in the last four years. From a media trial against us to sending us to jail, you have done everything you can," Khalid said at the protest site. He said even if he died, the battle would go on. "I have no personal hatred against those who tried to kill me. I pity those people who tried to kill me because they are being used by the government, that is also troubling their families. You are being used," the JNU student said.
"The real culprits are those who have been running a campaign against me for the last two-and-a-half years, branding me 'anti-national' and these include spokespersons, certain news anchors and channels," he said. Khalid was attacked on Monday when he was on his way to take part in an event at the Constitution Club here. He, however, escaped unhurt. On Tuesday, the Delhi Police handed over the case to its Special Cell, which incidentally is already probing a sedition case against Khalid and two other JNU students.
The police had also said that they were not "intimated" about Monday's event attended by Khalid. A police officer, privy to the probe, said the police had seized the weapon used in the crime and preliminary forensic examination suggested that the pistol had jammed when it was used against Khalid. He said they were yet to ascertain whether shots were fired as no empty cartridges were found at the spot. A case of attempt to murder has been registered by police in the incident.
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