Two Hindu Sena members were arrested on Wednesday night for barging into the headquarters of Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Delhi and manhandled party general secretary Sitaram Yechury, reported ANI. Pawan Kumar Kaul and Upender Kumar had forcibly entered AKG Bhawan when Yechury was about to address the media. Yechury, however, was unharmed.

Later, CPI(M) workers beat them up before handing them over to the police. New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police BK Singh told The Indian Express that they received a complaint from AKG Bhawan office in-charge Hari Shankar. “After sustained interrogation, the duo said they are associated with an outfit called Hindu Sena, and had been called to Gole Market by Hindu Sena chief named Vishnu Gupta,” he told the daily.

The men also raised slogans like “CPI(M) murdabad”, “Indian Army zindabad”, and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. The attack was in response to an article in the CPI(M) mouthpiece, People’s Democracy, that criticised Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s remarks on the human shield incident in Kashmir.

The Hindu Sena, on the other hand, condemned the police action. “[The] Delhi Police has detained two Hindu Sena activists Upendra Kumar and Pawan Kaul at Mandir Marg Police Station for protesting against Prakash Karat and CPI(M) for their article against the Indian Army. Hindu Sena will not allow any traitor to speak against the country and the Army,” the outfit said in a statement, according to CNN-News18.

Calling the duo “RSS miscreants”, Yechury said the saffron outfit typically tends to resort to violence. “Without violence, without terror, the RSS has never been able to increase its political influence,” he said. Yechury added that he will not be “cowed down by any attempts of Sangh’s goondagardi to silence us”.

The CPI(M) condemned the incident. “[This is] typical of the RSS methodology of seeking to browbeat and intimidate the Opposition,” said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, according to The Indian Express. He added that it was an attack on the Indian democracy. In the same tone, senior Congress leader and former Union minister AK Antony alleged that the Sangh Parivar was trying to create an atmosphere of fear.