Namaz incident: Hindu Raksha Dal protests outside Delhi Police headquarters over SI's suspension

New Delhi: Hindu Raksha Dal members on Tuesday staged a protest outside Delhi Police headquarters over the suspension of a sub-inspector who allegedly kicked a few people offering ‘namaz’ on a road in Inderlok area.

Several members of the right-wing outfit chanted ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ and ‘Jai Shree Ram’ during the protest. Around 50-60 protesters have been detained.

Sub-inspector Manoj Kumar Tomar shoved and kicked a few people offering namaz on a road in north Delhi’s Inderlok on March 8, leading to a protest by hundreds of locals against the force, and suspension of the accused with immediate effect.

"If they have rights to offer namaz on roads, we have rights too to chant Hanuman Chalisa on the roads as well. Our main demand is to bring the sub-inspector back on duty and to cancel his suspension orders," a Hindu Raksha Dal leader told PTI.

Another leader Vishnu Gupta said that leaders of different organisations joined the protest with their workers.

Gupta said, "People of a community jammed the road, disturbed peace and manhandled police personnel but took action against the sub-inspector who was trying to control a jam-like situation there.” “We will meet the Commissioner of Police of Delhi Sanjay Arora and will tell him to bring SI Manoj Kumar Tomar back on duty and to provide him security as well,” he said.

Gupta said that police have detained around 50 to 60 workers and kept them at the Parliament Street Police Station.

"We have detained around 50 to 60 people who were taken to the Parliament Street Police Station and were released immediately. We have deployed paramilitary forces and police force to maintain law and order," a senior police officer said.

Delhi Police has closed the route leading to the police headquarters for the protesters by barricading the road.

A video surfaced on social media where Tomar is seen trying to disperse a few men praying on the road near a mosque and in what seems like a sudden burst of rage, he starts shoving and kicking some of them.