AAP leader moves SC against death threat from right-wing body

After claiming to have received death threats from right-wing organisations, AAP leader Ashish Khetan on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking police protection.

A vacation bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha listed the matter for hearing on June 5 after Khetan's lawyers sought an urgent hearing of the matter. He has sought an apex court-monitored CBI probe into the threats received by him.

In the petition, Khetan said the language used in the threat letter received by him was similar to the threatening article written by right wing organisation Sanatan Prabhat against rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, who was gunned down in Pune in 2013.

“The petitioner herein respectfully submits that there are right-wing extremist organisations active in the country today. Some of the prominent groups among them are Sanatan Sanstha, Abhinav Bharat, Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, Hindi Rakshak Samiti, Bajrang Dal, Durga Vahini, Sri Ram Sene and Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

“Such radical right-wing extremist organisations have notably in the last couple of years carried out several murderous attacks on those who do not share their ideology and those who are rationalists, secularists, free thinkers, anti- superstition and critical thinkers,” the plea said.

Khetan, a former journalist and vice chairman of the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi, said that since 2014, such right-wing groups have gained prominence while the respondents (Centre and police) have failed to take effective action and discharge their duties to safeguard liberty and free speech.

"Such radical groups have sought to silence the voices of people like the petitioner herein by threats, intimidation, violence and even outright murder,” he said.

"That because of petitioner's investigative articles and forthright condemnation of the criminal and anti-national activities of the extremist right-wing organisations including that of Sanatan Sanstha, the petitioner in July 2016, received an anonymous letter threatening him with dire consequences," he said in his plea.

Khetan said he had even complained to the Delhi Police Commissioner about the threat but no substantive action has been taken by them till now. He said he had also written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

"In view of all these circumstances, the petitioner faces a grave threat to his life and liberty from radical right-wing organisations and their members who are wanted for various crimes and are still at large," it said.