Amidst the hearing of the bail petition of Pinjra Tod ‘activist’ and conspirator of the Delhi anti-Hindu riots Natasha Narwal, the accused and the police relied on references from Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata to emphasise the merits of the case.
The counsel for the accused, Adit Pujari, argued before the Court that the comprehensive 17,000-page Delhi police charge sheet was the second biggest document in the world after Mahabharata that had 22,000 pages. The special public prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad responded, “The accused’s counsel argued that the Mahabharata was 22,000 pages and the charge sheet was 17,000 pages. I would like to point out that Mahabharata was the story of a conspiracy and this case is also that of a conspiracy. In Mahabharata, Sanjaya was the one who was able to see everything.”
Prasad told Additional Sessions, Judge Amitabh Rawat, that the contentious Whatsapp group used to co-ordinate the riots, Delhi Protest Support Group (DPSG) was similar to the character of ‘Sanjaya’, who had narrated the war of Mahabharata to the king Dhritarashtra. He emphasised, “The Sanjaya of this conspiracy was DPSG. Sanjaya was narrating everything to Dhritarashtra. The Dhritarasthra here is yet to be identified. We have seen that their intent was not protest, but a disruptive chakka jam and clear indications that the end result was violence.”
Counsel of Natasha Narwal relies on Ramayana even as she is accused of orchestrating a riot where a Hindu was killed for a Jai Shree Ram sticker on his bike
While arguing for Natasha Narwal, advocate Adit Pujari argued that his client has been trapped in the case just like Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu, was trapped in a ‘Chakravyuh’ (battle formation) in Mahabharata.
Drawing instances from Shri Ram’s exile in Ramayana, Adit Pujari said, “Let’s be very clear that the reason this is being done is because the charge sheet does not really contain a prima facie case. This is not going to be a Ramayana where we are going to wait 14 years to see if we can finally come out… It is happening here and now; we are arguing this now.”
He alleged that the Delhi police chargesheet revolved only around the deaths of Rahul Solanki, IB officer Ankit Sharma and head constable Ratan Lal, even though a total of 53 people died in the deadly riots of North-East Delhi. “Are we living in a society where the life of one policeman is more important than 48 civilians? You name 53 persons having died. However, the chargesheet is surrounding Ratan Lal… According to the prosecution, it was a conspiracy to create disaffection against India in order to attract UAPA,” he claimed.
It is rather interesting that the counsel for Natasha Narwal equated her incarceration to the Vanvaas of Lord Ram in a case where she has been accused of orchestrating a riot that targeted Hindus. It becomes even more grotesque when one recalls the chants of ‘Hinduon se Azadi’ and ‘Maaro Kafiro ko maaro’ and the fact that a Hindu man was murdered during the anti-Hindu Delhi riots because he had a sticker of Lord Ram on his bike.
Vinod Kumar was mercilessly murdered on the night of 24th February. On his way to the medical shop on a bike along with his son, who escaped narrowly with serious injuries, Vinod Kumar was beaten and killed. Videos emerged where Vinod’s lifeless body was being dragged away from the spot where his bike was up in flames. In the distance, one could hear the chilling chants of a mob – Allah Hu Akbar, Nara e Taqbeer.
Vinod was killed by a murderous Islamist mob, according to his son, because of the Jai Shree Ram sticker on his bike. He said he saw no other reason for this unprovoked attack on his father and him.
In another video, one can hear the person shooting the video say, “Dekhiye, Muslimo ka ye haal, Hinduon ka kar diya jeena behaal. Ek laash bheji gayi hai Musalmano ki taraf se hamare Hindu bhai ki. Bhahampuri gali number ek mein. Le jao laash, aisi laashein uthengi poori raat, aisa sandesh diya hai…”.
Role of DPSG and Pinjra Tod activist Natasha Narwal
The Special Public Prosecutor informed that the Whatsapp group monitored and controlled all Anti-CAA protests sites. He stated that the intention was not to protest against the humanitarian act but to engage in the blockade, and ‘chakka jam’, culminating into unprecedented violence.
Accusing Pinjra Tod ‘activist’ Natasha Narwal of orchestrating protests at Seelampur, Amit Prasad reiterated that she was made a part of the DPSG group, following her success in Seelampur. He added that she was a part of a meeting on February 16 and February 17 during which the Anti-CAA conspiracy was hatched. Prasad pointed out that the Whatsapp chats revealed their nefarious agenda of inciting violence.
He stated, “She was privy to the principal conspirators. She was coordinating with the Jamia coordination committee. Detailed elaborations are not required on the merits at this point. The prima facie case stands established.”
The bail plea will be further heard on December 22.
Narwal associated with The Wire, Newslaundry
On May 23, the Special cell of Delhi police had arrested Natasha Narwal. She, along with co-accused Devangna Kalita, was one of the founding members of far-Left group Pinjra Tod, which was established in 2015. Pinjra Tod was started primarily in opposition to hostel curfews at Delhi’s colleges and universities, however, their far-left agenda had been evident since long.
Natasha Narwal was also a columnist with several Left-leaning online portals in the past. She had written three articles for the far-left propaganda portal The Wire. Harbouring deep-seated hatred and Hinduphobia, Natasha Narwal had also written for NewsLaundry during the release of the movie ‘Padman’.
Interestingly, in all her writings on the two platforms, while Natasha displays substantial hatred for Hindus and their traditions, even misrepresenting and lying about what the place of women is in the Hindu society, she seems to have stayed clear from any targeted criticism of women’s place in Islam and the Muslim community.
