New Delhi: Hindu Raksha Dal president Pinky Chaudhary has vowed to protect four men accused of assaulting a man and woman during the October 10 protest in Delhi, acknowledging them as members of his organisation.The Delhi Police arrested the accused on Sunday (October 11) after a video of them attacking a male protester and knocking a woman to the ground before assaulting her surfaced on social media. The footage has drawn widespread criticism, with the seemingly lenient conduct of the police personnel towards the alleged assailants also coming under public scrutiny.According to The Hindu, the accused have been identified as Raman Saini (50) of Pahari Dheeraj in Delhi, Vivekanand (32) of Nangloi, Kapil Kumar (27) of Ghaziabad and Ravinder Singh (35) – alias Govind Hindu – of Ghaziabad.Referring to the four accused as “warriors” in a social media post on X, Chaudhary said “his workers” actions reflected their support for the sanatan dharma. He claimed that the Hindu Raksha Dal, a right-wing Hindu nationalist outfit, will not “back down” in the face of opposition and will continue to protect its warriors.#मैंने कहा था ना हिंदू रक्षा दल को मत छेड़ो हिंदू रक्षा दल छोड़ना नहीं है यह मेरे ऐसे योद्धा हैं जो पूरी ताकत के साथ #सनातन धर्म का काम कर रहे हैं हमें किसी #राजनीति से कोई मतलब नहीं है लेकिन कोई अगर सनातन को टारगेट करेगी तो हम उसे टारगेट करके उसे वहीं पहुंचाएंगे जहां उसकी जगह है#हिंदू #रक्षा #दल को #छेड़ोगे तो #हिंदू #रक्षा #दल #छोड़ेगा नहीं।यह मेरे #योद्धा है करने वाले जिसे जो करना है कर ले मैं तैयार हूं अपने योद्धाओं को बचाने के लिए।@PMOIndia @CMOfficeUP @CMODelhi— Pinki Bhaiya (@BHUPENDER_HRD) October 10, 2026Chaudhary has since posted several such threatening posts on his X account, warning of retaliation against those he believed were ‘targeting’ the sanatan dharma. Videos accompanying his posts show goons, often wielding batons, attacking unarmed protesters in Central Delhi.Even though his posts, reiterating the same message of ‘protecting’ dharma, claim that the organisation is “not political,” his warriors’ violent targeting of civilians protesting against the chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls says otherwise.In another post on Sunday (October 11), Chaudhary said he personally sent members with lathis to the protest.“You’re looking for Hindu Raksha Dal workers? Take a look – yesterday, I myself sent them off after giving them a thrashing. Even if it’s just an eye on one Hindu Raksha Dal worker, we’ll gouge out eyes in return. These are the tigers of Hindu Raksha Dal – they live by wielding lathis,” he wrote on X.सौरभ दास अभिजीत दीपक ध्रुव राठी हर्ष छिकारा सभी कान खोल कर सुन लो हिंदू रक्षा दल के कार्यकर्ताओं को ढूंढ रहे हो यह देख रहे हो कल मैं ही इन्हें लाठी देकर भेजा था हिंदू रक्षा दल के एक कार्यकर्ता के ऊपर भी आंख की तो आंखें निकाल ली जाएगी यह हिंदू रक्षा दल के चीते हैं लाठी लेकर जीते हैं।@cjp @PMOIndia @CM_YOGI_UP— Pinki Bhaiya (@BHUPENDER_HRD) October 11, 2026Public and political condemnationThe footage of the assault has prompted criticism from the public and political parties alike. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which had called for the October 10 protest, strongly condemned the attack and accused members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of assaulting a woman protester in the presence of police officers.DEEPLY DISTURBING!BJP-RSS goons beating a young girl in the presence of Delhi Police, with an officer seemingly guiding them to stop the recording.Why is Delhi Police helping goons attack peaceful protestors instead of protecting them? Who gave them this free hand? https://t.co/2JeT40wrx2— Cockroach Janta Party – CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 10, 2026They questioned why the police personnel in the video appeared to intervene after the assault had occurred. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also criticised the police’s response, demanding why the Delhi Police had allegedly allowed the assault to take place in the presence of its personnel.In an X post on Sunday (October 11), AAP described the incident as “Emergency 2.0” and called into question the brutal handling of women demonstrators, frequently by male personnel, during the protests. The party alleged that male officers had dragged woman protesters along the street during the agitation and argued that female personnel should have been deployed to handle them.As per the Hindu report, the Kamla Market police station has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and legal proceedings are underway. A senior central district police official additionally told the newspaper that allegations of police inaction during the incident were also being examined.The incident comes against the backdrop of Delhi Police’s violent crackdown on peaceful protesters, merely attempting to reach protest sites, on October 10 and 11. Thousands of protesters, reporters, activists and political leaders were taken into custody, with pervasive state repression attempting to stifle any opportunity to even dissent against the chief election commissioner.