A grab from the video released by the two men.
SEVERAL TEAMS of the Delhi Police Special Cell launched a manhunt Thursday in and around Mandothi village in Haryana’s Jhajjar to nab two men who claimed in a video uploaded on social media that they were behind the attack four days ago on JNU student leader Umar Khalid outside the Constitution Club in New Delhi. The two — who identified themselves as Naveen Dalal and Darwesh Shahpur — claimed that the attack was an “Independence Day gift” to Indians. In the video, they said police should not “trouble” anyone else, and that they would surrender at the village of Sikh revolutionary Kartar Singh Sarabha in Ludhiana Friday.
Police said that Dalal, who runs a self-styled “gau raksha sena” in the village, wielded the country-made pistol during the attack and attempted to fire at Khalid before the gun jammed. According to police sources, mobile phone data showed that Dalal first ran towards the RBI building and then entered the Akashvani Bhawan, where he stayed till 3 pm. Both the buildings are located near Constitution Club. “He later switched off his phone,” sources said.
Sources said experts from a mobile company were called to procure “dump data” — mass collection of mobile phone data — from the spot. “After scanning the dump data, police found that a number, based in Haryana, was operating in the New Delhi district area. They found that it belongs to Dalal,” sources said. Police also obtained footage from a CCTV camera installed at the exit gate of the RBI building, which shows that 20 minutes before the incident, Dalal was “roaming alone” nearby. “At his village, we came to know that he had gone missing three days ago,” sources said.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Mandothi Sarpanch Satpal Dalal said: “Shahpur and Dalal are youths of this village who are running their own gau raksha sena. I helped them several times when they had legal problems while conducting cattle rescue operations. Dalal was working with me, but for the last two years he has been with the gau raksha sena. I am now helping Delhi Police nab Dalal and his associate,” he said.
Police are verifying the authenticity of the video and trying to trace the IP address from where it was uploaded. In the video, Shahpur said: “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.”DCP (special cell) Pramod Kushwaha said, “Our teams are conducting raids to nab Shahpur and Dalal after the video surfaced.”