Swami Agnivesh thrashed outside BJP office, files police complaint

New Delhi: Social activist Swami Agnivesh was on Friday abused and thrashed outside the BJP headquarters when he went there to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose body was lying in state for people to pay homage.

Soon after Agnivesh, 79, went to the party office on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg here, a group of persons started raising slogans against him, asking him to go back.

News channels showed footage of Avnivesh, a former Janata Party MP and a prominent social activist known for his work against bonded labour, running and being chased by a group of people, believed to be Bharatiya Janata Party workers, who later beat him up.

Delhi Police then whisked away Agnivesh to safety in a van.

Supporters of Agnivesh later gave a complaint against around 20 persons at the Parliament Street police station and demanded security for him.

"When Agnivesh reached outside the BJP headquarters, a group of BJP workers stopped him and started pushing him back. They prevented him from entering the party office and even tried to remove his turban," Agnivesh`s associate Vishnu Paul said in his complaint.

"They abused Agnivesh, slapped and thrashed him with a slipper in front of five to six policemen but no one came to his rescue. At last, we informed the Police Control Room," Paul said.

"If a complaint has been lodged against the assault, we will take legal action, but the spot where the crime happened comes under the jurisdiction of Delhi Police`s Central District. Agnivesh should complain there too," Joint Commissioner of Police Ajay Chaudhary told IANS. 

On July 17, Agnivesh was verbally abused and assaulted in Jharkhand`s Pakur town by a mob which, he claimed, comprised of members of a BJP-affiliated youth group.