Man stabbed after attackers ask for his name, two booked

Mohd Monis, the victim of the allegedly religiously motivated August 20 attack, is currently under treatment and his condition is said to be severe.

Two men stabbed a 21-year-old person in the neck with a broken liquor bottle allegedly after ascertaining his religion from his name, leaving him critically injured, the victim and his family said.

Police have arrested one of the two suspects, while the other is at large. (Representational Image)

The incident took place on August 20 but was disclosed only on Sunday after the Gurugram police, acting on an FIR filed at Section 14 police station on Saturday on the basis of the statement of the victim, Mohd Monish.

Gurugram police officials did not respond to requests for a comment on record but two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, gave contrasting assessments of what they thought happened: one official said the victim had been attacked over a communal motive, while the other said there was no stabbing at all.

Photos shared by the family appeared to be consistent with the allegations that Monish had been stabbed in the neck.

Monis worked at a car workshop close to Sector 14’s Marble Market.

The brother of the garage owner, who was witness to the attack, said the two suspects stabbed Monish after asking him his name and one of the suspects allegedly exclaiming at his religious identity.

“The suspect instantly picked up a beer bottle lying on the ground and smashed it. Without giving Monish any chance, the suspect stabbed him in the neck,” he said.

“He was bleeding profusely. We rushed him to several private hospitals in Gurugram but none admitted him looking at the condition. After some initial treatment at the government hospital, we took him to Safdarjung where doctors carried out an emergency surgery to stop his bleeding. He is now in ICU in Meerut,” this person said, adding that the suspect who had stabbed Monis was detained from the spot by a police team while another suspect had managed to run away.

This person was identified as Rakesh, alias Chinnu, by the police official quoted above. Both the men are yet to be arrested.

Lukman Jafar, victim’s brother, while speaking over the phone from Meerut, said that they decided to get him treated at a facility in their home town.

On Saturday, a Gurugram police team reached Meerut and recorded Monish’s statement on the basis of which an FIR was registered against the duo under sections 34 (common intention), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 324 (grievous injury) of IPC at Sector-14 police station.

Bhupender Singh, deputy commissioner of police (west), did not respond to HT’s queries for a comment on the case. Assistant commissioner of police (old Gurugram) Kapil Ahlawat could not be reached through phone.