During the tractor parade held on Republic Day, several protesters reached the Red Fort and rode in a tractor and entered the memorial and some of them even raised religious flags on its domes and hoisted the flag on the ramparts. Jaspreet Singh, one of Maninder Singh’s associates, was arrested at the historic memorial last Tuesday for waving swords with the intention of “inspiring” and “inciting” protesters.
Jaspreet Singh, a resident of Swaroop Nagar in North West Delhi, was arrested by the Crime Branch team on Saturday.
Thousands of protesters clashed with the police during a tractor parade called by the farmers’ unions on 26 January demanding the repeal of the Centre’s controversial farm laws. Several protesters arrived on red fort driving tractors and entered the memorial, and some of them hoisted religious flags on its domes and a flag on the ramparts.
“Jaspreet Singh is the person who stood behind accused Maninder Singh and climbed one of the domes on both sides of the Red Fort,” said an official. “In one of the photographs, he is also seen in an aggressive gesture holding the steel tensile installed in the Red Fort.” According to the police, 30-year-old Maninder Singh had “inspired” six people from the neighborhood who took part in the tractor parade leading from the Singhu border to Mukarba Chowk.
Police said Jaspreet Singh is one of the accomplices and has been identified with photographs and videos in which he was standing behind Maninder Singh.
Police said Maninder Singh, who works as a car AC mechanic, was arrested last week from Pitampura in north-west Delhi.
According to the police, Maninder Singh was seen in a video swinging two swords at the Red Fort, “with the intent to induce brutal attacks and violent anti-national elements who harass and harass policemen on duty”.
Maninder Singh was “radicalized” by looking at the “provocative” Facebook posts of various groups, police said, adding that he would often visit the Singhu border and was “highly motivated” by the speeches made by the leaders there.