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Police action came after videos circulated on social media late last month showing members of the Hindutva outfit carrying and handing out swords during a rally in the locality.

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Police in Uttar Pradesh have arrested the national president of the Hindu Raksha Dal and his son in Ghaziabad for allegedly distributing swords in a residential area and raising communal slogans, officials said on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Trans Hindon) Nimish Patil said Bhupendra Chowdhry, also known as Pinki, and his son Harsh Chowdhry were taken into custody on Tuesday from Shalimar Garden Colony.

The two were produced before a court and sent to 14 days of judicial custody. Their arrests follow the detention of 10 other members of the group in the same case on December 27.

Police action came after videos circulated on social media late last month showing members of the Hindutva outfit carrying and handing out swords during a rally in the locality.

In one video, Chowdhry is heard urging Hindus to keep swords, citing the killing of a Hindu man in neighbouring Bangladesh. He appeared to refer to the death of Dipu Chandra Das, who was beaten to death in December in Mymensingh district after being accused of blasphemy.

According to the police complaint, members of the group marched through the area with weapons and raised communal slogans. The case has been registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to rioting and use of deadly weapons, along with provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Act.

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