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Mob thrashes bangle seller in MP’s Indore; 14 booked

ByHT Correspondent
Aug 24, 2021 01:01 AM IST

Taslim Ali alleged that a First Information Report (FIR) was registered late Sunday evening only after members of the Muslim community staged a protest at Banganaga police station over the incident

Police arrested two people on Monday for allegedly thrashing a 25-year-old Muslim bangle seller in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore town and later booked the Muslim man for allegedly molesting a minor girl.

Representational Image. (File photo)
Representational Image. (File photo)

The thrashing incident, a video of which went viral on social media, took place on Sunday when the complainant, Taslim Ali, was selling bangles in the Govind Nagar area, police added.

According to Ali, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, he was accosted by a group of unidentified men who started thrashing him after finding out that he was a Muslim.

He added that a First Information Report (FIR) was registered late on Sunday only after a few members belonging to his community staged a protest outside Banganga police station.

“After asking my name, they frisked me and abused me. Later, they brutally thrashed me. They also looted 10,000 from me. I went to the police station but they did not lodge my complaint till late evening,” Ali alleged.

Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra claimed that the victim was using a fake identity, passing himself as Hindu. “The man was selling bangles by changing his name. People recovered two Aadhaar cards from his possession with a Hindu name and thrashed him. But they cannot take law into their own hands, so we have registered a case against them.”

A total of 14 people were booked in the FIR which was registered under section 141 (unlawful assembly), 147 (punishment for rioting) 147 (using criminal force), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 294 (using obscene language) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Police have also booked 12 people for creating ruckus at the police station. A police force has been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure.

“We registered an FIR only after confirming the incident. We will identify the culprits to nab them soon. We have also registered a case against the protesters for not maintaining peace,” Indore inspector general of police HN Mishra said.

Ashutosh Bagri, superintendent of police, Indore east, said: “There was no delay in registering the FIR. After recording the statement of eyewitnesses and the complainant, an FIR was registered.”

Late in the evening, police said a 13-year-old girl filed a complaint alleging Ali introduced himself as “Golu, son of Mohan Singh” to sell bangles at her home on Sunday and after describing her as “very beautiful”, he touched her inappropriately.

When the girl raised an alarm, her mother rushed out of home and when the bangle seller tried to escape from the spot, neighbours and other local residents caught and thrashed him, police added.

Based on the girl’s complaint, a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 471 (using fake documents as real ones), among others, was registered against Ali, the police said.

“Cops have found two Aadhaar cards of different names from the carry bag of Ali besides a burnt voter identity card in which his name was not clear. But in the column of father’s name, ‘Mohan Singh’ is printed on it,” said Bagri.

The Congress accused the police of harassing the minorities. “Police in Madhya Pradesh are harassing minority community members. They register cases against members of the minor community but not on their complaints. The man was beaten up because he is a Muslim. The police registered the case hours after the incident. Now, they should hold an unbiased investigation and arrest the accused soon,” state Congress Committee spokesperson Ajay Yadav said.

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