By Prarthana Mitra
In the latest revelation following the recent attack on JNU activist Umar Khalid outside Delhis Constitution Club, two men claimed responsibility for the attempt on his life, calling it an Independence Day gift to Indians. The shooters who identified themselves as Darwesh Shahpur and Naveen Dalal said they will surrender to the police on August 17, in a video uploaded on Facebook and circulated widely over social media.
Delhi police has launched a search for the two alleged perpetrators, besides trying to ascertain its authenticity and the IP address it was uploaded from.
About the inflammatory video
Certain alarming details have since surfaced, especially in the similarity between the rhetoric used by the two men, and the anti-national image of the Tukde Tukde gang being painted by certain right-wing media organisations. Shahpur in the video can be heard saying, “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.
According to a report from The Quint, the two men further said, He (Umar) had said India, you will be in pieces. We will not tolerate those who stay in India and try to break India into pieces, those who commemorate the death anniversary of a terrorist by chanting anti-national slogans like ’Long Live Pakistan’. We seek the help of all our fellow Indians in this fight that we have started. They should not support such anti-nationals.”
Later on Thursday, Khalid tweeted the photo of one of the shooters, standing next to the Editor in Chief of Sudarshan News, a Noida-based TV news channel.
All you need to know about the attack and the target
On Monday, Khalid was attacked just minutes before Khauff Se Azaadi, an organised by the United Against Hate group, was supposed to begin. Even though Khalid escaped unhurt, the incident has left student activists around the country in a state of deep shock at how easy it has become to attack dissidents in this country today. After the incident, Khalid himself spoke up about how Gauri Lankeshs memory flashed in his mind during the brief scuffle when his friends fortunately overpowered the gunman in a Facebook post.
The shooter managed to flee the scene soon after but according to the latest video, they have agreed to surrender at the village of Sikh revolutionary Kartar Singh Sarabha. According to the police who confiscated the weapon left behind, the gun had jammed at the moment of firing which averted a casualty.
Two years ago, Umar Khalid, then a student in JNU and member of the Democratic Students Union, was arrested over protesting against the judicial killing of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat. On July 6 this year, he was expelled from the university along with Kanahiya Kumar, besides being fined.
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius