New Delhi, Jan 26 (IANS): A Mumbai-based law student has written to Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde to take suo moto cognizance in an incident at Red Fort, where the flag of a community was waved in place of the national flag and set up an SIT to probe the matter.

Ashish Rai, a law student at Mumbai University, in his letter, said: "The way the flag of another community has been waved in place of the national flag of India, hurting the honour and dignity of the country, is a shameful event."

Protesting farmers on Tuesday swarmed into the Red Fort in the capital during a 'tractor rally' on the Republic Day even as police tried to prevent them from driving towards central Delhi. The farmers barged into the 17th century monument, climbed up its ramparts and waved farmer union flags and banners and even hoisted a pennant.

Police and other security personnel deployed at the Red Fort were seen baton charging the protesters even as they were clearly outnumbered by the farmers. A few youths climbed up the flagpole on the ramparts of the fort and put up a saffron pennant with a religious symbol. Later, a few of them even climbed up further and fixed a farmer union flag near the spot where a bigger tricolour was aflutter.

In the letter, Rai urged the top court to take cognizance that protestors in the tractor rally damaged large number of public properties and also tampered with the country's heritage Red Fort. He insisted that the national flag has been insulted along with the Constitution of the country.

"The country's devotional spirit has been hurt..It is, therefore, a humble request to the Supreme Court that a Special Investigation Committee be formed on this entire matter to conduct a rigorous inquiry against the anti-social element involved in this unconstitutional activity so as to punish the accused," said the letter.

Rai has attached tweets and media reports regarding the incident with the letter.