New Delhi [India], October 11 : The Delhi Police has refuted allegations surrounding a video circulating on social media that purportedly shows police personnel wearing shoes in Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, stating that the clip was circulated with "malicious intent" to outrage religious sentiments and disturb communal harmony.
In a post on X, DCP New Delhi on Saturday clarified that the personnel shown in the video were walking through a common passage used by devotees to reach the point where they remove their shoes before entering the Gurdwara.
"Regarding the video circulated on social media, alleging entry by police staff in Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, wherein some police staff is shown wearing shoes," the DCP New Delhi said in the post.
"In the circulated video, some police staff is shown walking in the common passage, used by all devotees to reach the point where shoes are taken off to enter the Gurdwara. The process is the same for all devotees coming to Gurdwara. The video showing the same is attached," the post read.
https://x.com/DCPNewDelhi/status/2108941036814774608
The Delhi Police further alleged that the video had been deliberately circulated to hurt the sentiments of a religious community and adversely affect religious harmony.
"The video has been circulated deliberately with malicious intent, to outrage the feelings of a respectable religious community and is prejudicial to religious harmony. Legal action is being initiated," the DCP said.
The clarification came amid widespread detentions in the national capital on Saturday, as protesters attempted to march towards Jantar Mantar for a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to Delhi Police sources, over 1,000 protesters were detained across the national capital while attempting to reach the protest site. Security personnel were deployed at key entry points, where intensive vehicle checks were conducted to prevent demonstrators from reaching the designated location.
Among those detained were Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and All India Students' Association (AISA) leader Neha Bora. CJP activists Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, along with CJP legal head Ratna Singh, were also detained. Several other political leaders and demonstrators were detained at different locations in Delhi and elsewhere.
Following his detention, Kejriwal shared a video on X in which he said that the country's youth had awakened and asserted that the protesters would not be intimidated.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also alleged that she and five MPs were detained and driven around in a prison van for two hours following the police action in the national capital.
The Delhi Police later in the evening released all detainees. However, legal proceedings against the detained CJP activists will continue.