Highlights
- The incident took place at around 10:52 am at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station
- The group can be seen and heard on video chanting "goli maaro sa***n ko"
- They were immediately handed over to Delhi Metro Rail Police
A group of people were seen raising an incendiary slogan, calling to gun down traitors, at one of the busiest metro stations in Delhi on Saturday. In a widely-shared video from the Rajiv Chowk metro station, a group, wearing white t-shirts and orange head gear, can be seen and heard chanting "desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro sa***n ko". The entire chant translates to "shoot down the traitors who betray the country".
Six people have been detained.
Referring to the slogan-raisers as "passengers", the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited or DMRC said the metro staff and the security personnel posted at the station "immediately handed them over to the Delhi Metro Rail Police for further necessary action".
The incident took place at around 10:52 am, Delhi Metro officials said in their statement. Any kind of demonstration is banned in the Delhi metro premises.
"Under Delhi Metro O&M Act 2002, any kind of demonstration or nuisance is prohibited in Delhi metro premises. Any passenger indulging in such act is liable to be removed from the Metro premises," Delhi Metro said in a statement.
The group started the sloganeering when a train was about to stop at the metro station, according to a reporter from news agency PTI who was at the spot.
After getting off the train, they reportedly continued chanting pro-citizenship law slogans like "shoot the traitors" and one more literally meaning that the "youth of the country is out to support and defend CAA(Citizenship Amendment Act)".
The provocative slogan was raised at a time the northeastern part of Delhi remains on the edge after unprecedented violence over Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests. 42 people have died and hundreds injured since Sunday.
The latest "goli maaro" slogan-raising also comes after a series of hate speeches from several political leaders. BJP leaders have portrayed those protesting against the citizenship law as "traitors".
Union Minister Anurag Thakur, during the campaign for the Delhi election last month, was filmed encouraging chants of "Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saa*** ko (shoot down the traitors)" at a rally for a BJP candidate. The slogan was raised shortly before shortly before gunmen opened fire at anti-citizenship protesters in Delhi.
Another BJP leader, Abhay Verma, a Delhi MLA, was seen marching through the streets repeating the "goli maaro" slogan.
(With inputs from PTI)