When traced the man in the video, named Haji Lukman, a resident of Shaheen Bagh, he said he had gone there with some other residents of the area and asked the protestors to leave one side of road for convenience of people. When they didn't respond, I took out my licensed pistol in agitation, he added.
On why he carried his pistol, the Haji said, "It's my fault. I forgot to deposit it with the authorities as per the election norm."
Depositing a weapon during elections is mandatory. The non-deposit also raises question on the efficacy of the local police.
While Lukman said he was not a AAP worker, Okhla Congress head Parvez Alam Khan said the Haji was the right hand man of local MLA Amanatullah. The police should take action against him for trying to create disturbance during a peaceful protest, Khan added.
It was chaos at the Shaheen Bagh protest site earlier during the day when protesters overpowered a man with the firearm. It's seen in the video of the incident that went viral on social media.
The man initially kept the pistol hidden as he shouted at protestors to leave the site. But as the protestors started pushing him out of the site, he pulled his shirt up and flashed the firearm.
For a brief the protestors were terror-struck, but they soon recovered their senses and overpowered the man and made him to leave the venue, instead of handing him to the police. They have also not filed any complaints against him.
Protestors stood strong and continued their sit-in on Monday night and Tuesday morning despite rain. Shaheen Bagh protest is continuing for over 40 days now.
( With inputs from IANS )