Bajrang man in 14-day custody

Mahesh Misra, the convenor of the Faizabad unit of the Bajrang Dal, who was arrested on Wednesday night in connection with the self-defence training camp organised in Ayodhya city, was sent to 14-day judicial custody by the court on Thursday. The Faizabad CJM court passed this order after Sharma was charged with hurting religious sentiments of the Muslim community and spreading communal hatred under Section 153 A of the IPC.

The Bajrang Dal leader’s arrest came after an FIR was lodged at the Ayodhya police station late Tuesday night.

The self-defence training camp turned into a major controversy after a video clip that went viral on the social media, showed the “targets” wearing skull caps and brandishing firearm, swords and lathis.

In the annual self-defence camp, the Bajrang Dal cadres are trained to use rifles, swords and sticks so that they can “protect the Hindus”.

The cadres were seen “killing” men dressed as Muslims during the mock drill. The Bajrang Dal had planned to organise similar camps in Sultanpur, Gorakhpur, Pilibhit, Noida and Fatehpur cities in the state till June 5. Faizabad SSP Mohit Gupta said that Misra and others have been booked for spreading communal hatred and breach of peace and more arrests are likely to take place as soon as the faces in the video clip are identified.