In a video that is being widely circulating on social media, two men have claimed that they attacked JNU student Umar Khalid outside New Delhi’s Constitution Club on August 3. According to news reports, the Delhi Police has launched a manhunt to nab the two men.
The video begins with the two men pronouncing their allegiance to Bharat Mata. They go onto state that, “by attacking Khalid we wanted to give a gift to the people on the occasion of Independence Day.”
Identifying themselves as Sarvesh Shahpur and Naveen Dalal, the men also appeal to the police to not “harass” others for the attack, adding that they would surrender at the house of Sikh revolutionary Kartar Singh Sarabha on August 17.
Youth Ki Awaaz has accessed a copy of the video, but is not publishing it due to the inflammatory content of the speech.
Towards the end of the clip, one of the men is heard saying, “Our message to all our fellow Indians is that we have attempted this attack not for ourselves, but for the entire nation. We do not care even if we lose our lives for this. We will not let terrorists like Afzal be born in this country.”
They continue, “He (Umar Khalid) had said ‘Bharat tere tukde honge.’ 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 ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. We seek the help of all our fellow Indians in this fight that we have started. They should not support such anti-nationals.”
On Monday, student leader Umar Khalid was attacked by an armed man outside the Constitution Club of India. He had come there to attend an event. The armed assailant had fled from the spot after the attack and has not been identified yet.
A police officer however has told The Indian Express that if the claim is found to be ‘corroborative’, the men will be arrested. Police also said that they will take help from Haryana and Punjab Police to track down the men.