Mumbai: A Kanpur-based doctor, Shakti Bhargav, 52, has been arrested for illegal entry to the BJPs manifesto release event at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Sunday by posing as a journalist and using a fake identity card. He allegedly threw around 50 leaflets referencing the Kanpur Lal Imli mill workers’ protest over non-payment of wages for three years. Bhargav has been remanded to BKC police custody till November 12. As Union Home Minister Amit Shah was present at the manifesto event, his security has been intensified for the Ghatkopar rally on Tuesday.
About Kanpur Shoe-Throwing Incident
In 2019, Bhargav threw a shoe at BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao during a press briefing in New Delhi. The shoe missed Rao and hit the microphone. Bhargav runs a clinic in Kanpur and will be interrogated about the motive behind the latest breach. The police said Bhargav also claims to be a property developer and forged the identity card of a Hindi national newspaper to gain access to the BKC event. He reportedly remained calm during the event before suddenly throwing the leaflets. He had travelled from Kanpur four days prior to the incident, and authorities are looking into how he gained knowledge of the Home Minister’s schedule. The police have charged him with trespassing, cheating, and forgery.
Bhargav identifies himself as a whistle-blower and is said to be concerned about mill workers in Uttar Pradesh. Incidentally, days prior to the security breach, Yogi Adityanath announced potential employment opportunities through the mills revival, despite reports of complications regarding its reopening. In the 2019 shoe-throwing incident in New Delhi, the BJP chose not to press charges. However, Bhargav faced an Income-Tax investigation related to undisclosed assets. His parents reportedly disowned him after he publicly declared himself a whistleblower on social media.
In the present case, an FIR has been filed under sections 125 (acts endangering personal safety or human life of others), 136 (assault or use of criminal force under grave and sudden provocation), 318 (cheating, including offenses involving valuable securities), and 319 (cheating by impersonation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
