Swami Agnivesh assaulted near the BJP’s office in Delhi

Swami Agnivesh was surrounded and manhandled today near the BJP office in Delhi, where he had gone to pay his last respects to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This is the second attack in a month on the 79-year-old social activist, who was earlier beaten in Jharkhand by a mob that allegedly included BJP workers.

The attack just outside the office of India’s ruling party, has been caught on camera. In the footage, the saffron-robed Swami Agnivesh is chased and pushed by a group that calls him “traitor” as he keeps walking, trying to get away. His turban is yanked by one man and a woman is seen holding her slipper, as if ready to strike at him. The police took Swami Agnivesh to a van and moved him to safety but even as it was driving off, the mob tried to hit him.