Fringe group booked by Hyderabad cops for burning Constitution, insulting Ambedkar

The police have registered a case under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Fringe group booked by Hyderabad cops for burning Constitution, insulting Ambedkar
Fringe group booked by Hyderabad cops for burning Constitution, insulting Ambedkar
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The Saifabad police in Hyderabad have registered a case against Azad Sena, the fringe group that was caught on camera chanting slogans against Dr BR Ambedkar and burning copies of the Indian Constitution.

The Azad Sena was booked under charges of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on Tuesday.

On August 9, the group had convened a meeting at Parliament Street in New Delhi and burnt copies of the Constitution. They shared live videos of the incident, which went viral.

After seeing the videos and identifying the suspects via Facebook, Battula Ram Prasad, the state president of Mala Welfare Association, filed a police complaint against them in Hyderabad.

Speaking to TNM, he said, “The complaint was registered after a long protest with the police. They refused to lodge the complaint. However, after we staged a hunger strike at the police station, they obliged.”

Speaking about the incident where copies of the Constitution were burnt, he said, “It was most unfortunate. Besides burning the Constitution, they also chanted slogans and other casteist slurs against Ambedkar. It is a deep insult to the marginalized communities. Insulting Ambedkar is tantamount to insulting all Dalit-Bahujans.”

Batulla has called for action against the culprits. “Their anger is not just against reservations but they espouse a deep hatred for the Dalits… definitely, they deserve a strong action,” he said.

Dalit human rights activist Karthik Navayan Battula said that the incident had disturbed the Dalits as it was an insult to them and their icon, Ambedkar, who had drafted the Indian Constitution.

“It would be a case of sedition to burn the Constitution, as a human rights activist I wouldn’t advocate such harsh action against them. But their action is highly condemnable,” he said.

“The incident was revolting, authorities henceforth should pre-emptively take action against such groups and avoid these incidents,” Karthik said.  

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