The contact person named in the video and the flyer for the proposed ‘victory rally’ to felicitate Vishal Jood on his anticipated release date, has denied his involvement in organising the event.
The contact person named on the video and the flyer for the proposed ‘victory rally’ to felicitate Vishal Jood on his anticipated release date, has denied his involvement in organising the event.
Yogesh Khattar, whose name was mentioned in the flyer and the promo video of the has denied that he had anything to do with the proposed ‘Victory Rally’ for Vishal Jood, who is serving a jail sentence after pleading guilty to criminal charges.
Speaking to NRI Affairs, Yogesh Khattar said, “A Tik-Tok image is being circulated on social media with my photo and contact details on it, claiming that there is a rally being organised on 15 October 2021 in support of Vishal Jood. The image is fraudulent.”
Mr Khattar said that no such rally was being organised on 15 October and denied being the author of the post. He said his photograph and personal details had been used in the image without his knowledge or consent.
He added that he had made a formal complaint about the ‘fraudulent post’ to police today.
Mr Khattar has asked all media outlets covering the story to remove his image.
Earlier, flyers and messages were doing the rounds on social promoting a ‘Victory Rally’ to be organised from Sydney’s Harris Park to Murugan Temple on 15 October, which was described as ‘Vishal Jood Release Day’.
Mr Khattar believes that some mischevious elements have wrongly used his name in a fraudulant manner. He said he had indeed supported Vishal in fighting his legal case because he was not pleased with the way Vishal was being treated. However, he clarified, he had no intentions of holding a rally in support of Vishal Jood, one of the reasons being COVID related restrictions in Sydney.
Mr Khattar, who runs a store in Sydney, later informed NRI Affairs that his store has been attacked since the video of the event became viral and his delivery scooters and security cameras had been vandalised. He said that the police was investigating the matter.
An NSW Police Force spokesperson had told NRI Affairs that the NSW Police Force was aware of information circulating on social media relating to a proposed rally at Harris Park on Friday, 15 October 2021.
“A Form 1 has not been submitted for this event, nor has the NSW Police Force been approached by anyone purporting to be organising or involved in the event,” said the spokesperson adding, “Police will deploy a highly visible and mobile response to ensure the free movement of people and traffic, and target criminal, anti-social, or other behaviour which may impact of the safety of the community.”
Vishal Jood, arrested in April for the acts of violence, was sentenced to twelve months in prison by a Parramatta Court in Sydney in September. The sentence carries a six-month non-parole period. Jood will become eligible for parole on 15 October.
Jood had pleaded guilty to three charges, including ‘assault’, ‘occasioning actual bodily harm in the company of others’ and ‘armed with an intention to commit indictable offence’, while the Crown dropped the other charges.
The issue has made news headlines in India where it has been claimed Vishal Jood was acting to protect the Indian flag from being dishonoured by ‘Khalistanis’. The Haryana Chief Minister had intervened in the matter and written to India’s Foreign Minister to get Vishal released. In a tweet, CM’s office wrote, “CM @mlkhattar spoke to External Affairs Minister, Shri @DrSJaishankar for the immediate release of Vishal Jude, a Haryanvi youth lodged in Australia’s jail & appealed for immediate intervention in the matter. The Foreign Minister has conveyed India’s concern to the Australian Embassy”.
