Mob thrashes Muslim man, calls him corona carrier; he later jumps to death at quarantine facility

Police Tuesday registered an FIR of abetment to suicide against unknown persons after a 32-year-old man jumped to his death from the seventh floor of a quarantine

Police Tuesday registered an FIR of abetment to suicide against unknown persons after a 32-year-old man jumped to his death from the seventh floor of a quarantine facility in Greater Noida on Sunday evening.

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The man’s family has alleged that a mob had intercepted him near Momnathal village a few days ago on mistaking him for a member of Tablighi Jamaat, the Islamic missionary group whose congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin in mid-March had led to a spurt in Coid-19 cases across the country. The family alleged that the mob believed him to be a virus carrier and thrashed him. His attackers also made videos of him on their phones and then widely shared them on the social media captioned, “coronavirus positive Muslim man”.

Knowledge Park Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter.

Mohammad Zakir, the man’s uncle, said the 32-year-old man was on his way to meet his wife and son who were at his in-laws’ place in Rabupura, Greater Noida.

“My nephew got married two years ago. He was walking to his in-laws’ place and had reached Momnathal village around 8am. A group of youngsters stopped him on noticing his long beard. They thrashed him and made two videos on mobile phone and linked him with Tablighi Jamaat. The malicious videos were later uploaded on Tiktok by a person named Shravan Chaudhury,” he said.

Zakir said his nephew had no connections with the Jamaat.

He said the police and health department officials later reached the spot after getting a call from area residents and took the man to the Greater Noida Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) for medical examination.

Rajesh Kumar Singh, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida, said the man was later shifted to a quarantine facility in Greater Noida.

“On Sunday evening, we received information that the man had jumped off the seventh floor and died. His test reports for Covid-19 were negative. Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons under Section 306 of the IPC (abetment to suicide) on the complaint of the quarantine facility manager. The police are investigating the matter,” he said.

The man’s family said he worked as a cab driver and was going through a financial crisis for some months. “He had five sisters and one older brother. He was facing some financial crisis and was depressed. He was also undergoing treatment at a mental hospital in Delhi. We reached the hospital when we received information that he had been quarantined. We informed the police and hospital management that he was not a coronavirus patient but they did not listen to us. They said that man will remain in quarantine till his test reports came,” Zakir said.

“The mob that thrashed him is responsible for his death. The quarantine facility management was also negligent and police should probe their role too,” Zakir said.

The body was later handed over to family and it was buried Monday night. The district administration has already ordered a magisterial probe into the matter.