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Man assaulted over alleged social media post supporting Nupur Sharma, 4 held
A 24-year-old youth was allegedly attacked by a group of youths in Karjat town of Ahmednagar district over social media post supporting BJP leader Nupur Sharma, officials said on Saturday
A 24-year-old youth was allegedly attacked by a group of youths in Karjat town of Ahmednagar district over social media post supporting BJP leader Nupur Sharma, officials said on Saturday. According to officials, there was previous enmity between the two groups after fight broke out between them recently.
The latest attack took place in the Karjat on Thursday evening and the victim has been identified as Sunny Pawar. He has sustained serious injuries and is undergoing treatment at Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital.
Manoj Patil, superintendent of police (Ahmednagar), said that based on a complaint filed by Sunny Pawar’s friend Amit Mane on Friday, four people have been arrested. Mane in his complaint named 14 persons as suspects, all from Karjat.
Pawar was attacked when he and Mane were going to attend an event on his two-wheeler and were waiting for a friend near a medical shop.
According to Patil, the police are still verifying the information related to social media posts. “We have arrested four persons regarding the attack. We are verifying details about social media post as mentioned in the FIR based on complaint,” said Patil.
Pawar, according to SP, has criminal cases lodged against him and was externed out of the town limits by the local police recently.
According to the FIR, Pawar was attacked when he and Mane were on their way to attend an event on his two-wheeler and waiting for a friend near a medical shop. While the duo were waiting, some men approached them on a two-wheeler. “They were carrying a sword, sickle, and hockey sticks. One of them called Pawar and reproached him over a social media post over Nupur Sharma. After being attacked with sharp weapons, Pawar dropped unconscious after which the accused thought he was dead and left the spot,” the FIR stated.
Local police officials said there was previous enmity between victim and the suspect. Police inspector Chandrashekhar Yadav said, “There was a fight between the victim and accused recently and criminal complaints had been lodged in connection with the incidents. Preliminary investigation reveals that the attack was due to a previous fight. The allegations related to social media posts of the victim are being verified.”
An FIR was registered against 14 people under sections 307 (attempt to murder),143 (being a member of an unlawful assembly), rioting, 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
