The Delhi Police have told a court that releasing Supreme Court lawyer and former Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay could intensify Hindu-Muslim tensions, the Indian Express reported on Wednesday.
Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava has asked the court to send Upadhyay in judicial custody for two weeks, as Delhi is gearing up for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations on 15 August.
Srivastava also noted before the court that Upadhyay had gone against police orders and gathered people at Delhi's Jantar Mantar park to protest against the construction of a Haj House for Muslim pilgrims in the Dwarka area of the city.
The Jantar Mantar is located in the heart of Delhi, minutes away from the important government offices such as the Parliament building and the Presidential House Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In the light of the ongoing parliament session, COVID guidelines and safety measures ahead of the Independence Day, police are trying to prevent public gatherings in the sensitive areas of central Delhi.
The legal representative of Upadhyay have meanwhile told the court that he was not present at the protest site for a period of five hours when protesters began shouting inflammatory slogans such as "Muslims will be cut into pieces".
A bail plea for Upadhyay's release has also been submitted in court. Tanvi Khurana, the Duty Metropolitan Magistrate, has reserved her decision as of now, media reports have added.