Dutch national, one other held

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Wednesday said that its Crime Branch had arrested two more people in the Red Fort violence on Republic Day during the anti-farm laws tractor parade, including a Dutch national based in the UK and a 21-year-old Delhi resident. The police have identified the Dutch citizen as 23-year-old Maninderjit Singh who is based in Birmingham and the local as one Khempreet Singh from north-west Delhi's Swaroop Nagar.

The police said that various teams of the Crime Branch Unit probing the Red Fort violence case have been conducting regular raids at different places in Delhi and Punjab and that both these accused were arrested on Tuesday.

"On the day of the incident, Maninderjit alongside the unruly mob started moving from Singhu Border, Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, Burari, Majnu ka Tila and finally reached Red Fort. He was trying to flee from India, from IGI Airport on the basis of forged travel documents in the name of an imposter, posing himself as Jarmanjit Singh when he was nabbed," the police said.

They added that a lookout notice was also issued against Maninderjit and that he was planning to flee the country through Nepal. "Accused Maninderjit is a habitual offender. Accused is previously involved in a riots case registered in one of the police stations in Punjab. He was also involved in a cheating case," officials said.

"During an investigation, an electronic map was drawn to figure out the possible route taken by the accused to reach the Red Fort on the date of the incident," the police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Monika Bharadwaj said Maninderjit he along with his family is settled in Birmingham (United Kingdom) and is employed as a construction worker. In December 2019, the accused had visited India and due to lockdown in 2020, he could not go back to his workplace.

The other accused Khempreet was also actively involved in the Red Fort Violence, the police claimed. During the analysis of videos available in the case records, he along with other associates was seen carrying a big spear in his hand and assaulting the police personnel on duty inside Red Fort (Well Area).

He was arrested from Khayala. Khempreet reached the monument after joining the mob from Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, and later going through barricades at Burari and Chatta Rail, the police said.

With this, the total number of arrests made in connection with the case of violence at the Red Fort on Republic Day stands at 14, they said.