An incendiary speech made by a constable of the Central Reserve Police Force at an event organised by the National Human Rights Commission went viral on social media. The speech called for violent action against alleged anti-nationals and was criticised by several people after a TV channel praised it as a “fiery speech” against “India haters”.

The video showed CRPF Constable Khusboo Chauhan speaking about terrorism and militancy in India, and ways to tackle it effectively while observing human rights. “No human rights activist ever stood with us, but when in JNU, an anti-national said slogans like ‘bharat tere tukde tukde honge [India will be divided into many pieces]’ or ‘Afzal, hum sharminda hain, tere qatil zinda hai [Afzal, we are ashamed that your killers are still alive]’, everybody lined up in support for him,” Chauhan said.

Chauhan was referring to former Jawaharlal Nehru University student activist Kanhaiya Kumar, who was arrested in February 2016 on sedition charges for his presence at a protest in which several students allegedly shouted “anti-national” slogans. The protest, which was against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, had led to outrage by Hindutva groups.

The jawan added: “As a daughter of India and a member of the armed forces, I declare that we will enter houses and kill from where people like Afzal come. We won’t let wombs flourish from which people like Azfal emerge.” She also called for the people of the country to pierce Kanhaiya Kumar’s chest with the national flag.

CRPF spokesperson Moses Dhinakaran said the constable made those comments during a debate competition on September 27. “She is speaking against the motion in a debate competition organised by NHRC,” he said. “We in CRPF respect human rights unconditionally. She was asked to speak against the motion and has delivered a speech with brilliance but some portions should have been avoided.” He added that she has been “suitably advised”.

A former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice PC Pant, currently a member of the NHRC, was the chief guest at the debate contest.

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