Man Who Swung Swords At Red Fort On Republic Day Arrested

New Delhi: The ‘most wanted’ man in the Red Fort violence on Republic Day was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police from the Pitampura area. Thirty-year-old Maninder Singh was seen swinging swords at Red Fort during a tractor rally in vidoes and photos that surfaced after January 26.

“Singh was swinging his swords to motivate/radicalise violent anti-national elements indulging in the brutal assault of police personnel on duty at Red Fort on January 26,” Pramod Singh Kushwah, DCP (Special Cell) said. The investigating team has recovered two swords (4 feet in size) from Singh’s house in Swaroop Nagar, the report added.

Singh, an AC mechanic, also runs a sword training school near his house. During his interrogation, he told the police he was “radicalised” after seeing various Facebook posts on different groups.

“Singh frequently visited Singhu border and was highly motivated by speeches there. He told us that he motivated six persons from his area and on the day of the violence, these men joined the tractor rally from the Singhu border to Mukarba Chowk,” Kushwah was quoted as saying.

According to police, the accused later acted on his plan and marched to Red Fort with his associates and other armed miscreants.