Ex-CM Hooda’s aide Virender booked for sedition

Rohtak/Hisar, Haryana Police on Wednesday booked Prof. Virender Singh, political adviser to former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, for allegedly inciting violence during the Jat quota agitation.

In Hisar, DGP Yash Pal Singhal said an FIR was lodged at the Civil Lines police station in Rohtak.

Former CM BS Hooda’s political adviser Prof Virender Singh and Capt Maan Singh Dalal have been booked under Sections 109 (Punishment of Abetment), 153 (Provocation with intent to cause riot), 153-A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence and language etc and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 124-A (Sedition) and 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy).

The police have booked the two on the basis of a mobile phone sting in which Prof Virender was reportedly heard egging on to spread agitation in the Sirsa side.
The case has been registered on the complaint of Pawan Kumar, a resident of Bhiwani. “No arrest orders have been issued as yet, as we are conducting preliminary inquiry,” the DGP said.
An audio clip containing a controversial conversation between Virender and a retired Captain had recently surfaced in the wake of the Jats’ agitation for grant of reservation and incidents of violent clashes and arson in different parts of the state.
Prof Virender had earlier accepted that the voice in the clip was his but alleged the conversation has been “doctored”.

He had maintained that nowhere had he talked about instigating Jats or anyone. “Moreover, the conversation is an old one, much before the current unrest started,” he had said earlier.

The Congress had served a show-cause notice to Prof Virender, a PCC delegate, after the audio clip came to light.

Leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly and senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala had said the clip makes it clear how “attempt” was being made to “instigate” the protesters “sitting peacefully”.