Three arrested for 'insulting' national flag during Barawafat procession in Kota

Kota (Rajasthan): Three persons were arrested for allegedly insulting the national flag by tampering it with Islamic symbols during a Barawafat procession, officials said on Tuesday.

Two minors involved in the incident were also identified and will be detained, they said.

Police said a video surfaced on social media purportedly showing a person waving the national flag that had a crescent and star printed on either side of the Ashoka Chakra.

BJP MLA Sandeep Sharma and members of Hindu outfits staged a dharna outside Anantpura Police Station, demanding action against those seen in the video, they said.

Police found that the video was from Anantpura area, following which Ashfaq (50) -- the organiser of the procession, Aman Ali, 20, and Aman, 19, (both persons have the same first name) were arrested, Kota city Superintendent of Police Amrita Duhan said in a statement issued on Monday evening.

On Monday, SHO Bhupendra Singh saw the video showing a person waving the national flag with a crescent and star printed on either side of the Ashoka Chakra during the Barawafat procession, Duhan said.

The police team of DSP Manish Sharma and SHO of Anantpura police station Bhupendra Singh identified the individuals in the video, the SP said.

The officer said the act constituted an offence under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Subsequently, a case was registered in the matter at Anantpura Police Station, the SP said.

They were also charged under Section 299 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Ashfaq was also charged under Section 61 (2) of BNS, police said.