Hooda''s aide Virender, 2 others discharged in sedition case

Tribune News Service
Rohtak, December 6  

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s former political aide Prof Virender Singh, local Congress leader Jaideep Dhankhar and khap leader Maan Singh Dalal were on Friday discharged in case of sedition and arson pertaining to Jat quota stir by a Rohtak court.

In May this year police had filed a charge-sheet in the court against Prof Virender Singh and said he had played an “important” role in instigating people during the February 2016 Jat reservation violence.

A TV channel had aired an audio clip on February 21, 2016, in which Prof Virender and Capt Man Singh Dalal (retd), spokesperson of Dalal Khap Chaurasi, could be heard having a conversation.

Prof Virender was heard saying the protests were doing well in the Deswali belt but in Sirsa, despite promise of support by the INLD, “not even an ant is stopped”.

Violence had taken place amid Jat reservation protests in Rohtak, Sonepat, Hisar, Bhiwani, Kaithal, Jhajjar, Jind, Panipat and other districts.

In Rohtak alone, 1,202 cases were registered. There were four incidents of murders, one of loot, 58 robbery and 519 of rioting, while theft and related cases were numbered at 620.

The charge-sheet claimed that both Capt Dalal and Prof Virender had told the TV channel that they had spoken to each other and the audio clip contained their voices.

The charge-sheet alleged that being the political adviser of Hooda, Prof Virender had plotted the violence to gain political mileage.