Gurugram mob attack: Three more arrested, two are history-sheeters

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Himanshu Garg said they arrested the three suspects from different location of Nayagaon in Bhondsi late on Sunday and Monday.

Four days after a mob attacked a Muslim family in Dhumaspur village of Bhondsi, the police on Monday arrested three more suspects, bringing the total number of those under arrest to five, including the alleged mastermind.

Police personnel deployed outside the house of the family that was assaulted by locals on Holi, at Bhoop Nagar village, in Gurugram, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)

At least 12 members of the joint family, including children as young as one-and-a-half years old, were injured when the mob of 8-10 men attacked the family of Mohammad Sajid with sticks, water pipes and iron rods after an altercation on the day of Holi. Parts of the attack were captured on a mobile phone by one of the family members who escaped to the roof and went viral on social media on Friday. The family hails from Uttar Pradesh and moved to Gurugram in 2005.

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Himanshu Garg said they arrested the three suspects from different location of Nayagaon in Bhondsi late on Sunday and Monday.

Two of the three suspects, identified as Dharmender alias Bittu, 35, and Sunil Kumar, 42, of Nayagaon, are history-sheeters and have been booked for various offences, including assault, threat to life, fraud, under Excise Act and for digging illegal borewells, police said.

Meanwhile, the villagers of Nayagaon and Dhumaspur village held a panchayat and decided to meet deputy commissioner and commissioner of police to request registration of a cross-fir, alleging that the “other party” was the first to attack.

“They were the first to attack our village boys, who were returning home when a cricket ball hit them. When they objected, one of them (those playing cricket) caught hold of the boy’s shirt and slapped him. Within a few minutes, the village women started pelting stone from terraces, which led to the brawl,” Balbir Singh, a member of the village Panchayat of Nayagaon, said, adding that it was unfair that only one-sided case was registered.

Numberdar of Nayagaon village Badan Singh said, “The police picked up parents of suspects who are at large; women have also been kept in police custody. The police are supporting one side, whereas they were the first one to attack the local boys. Our boys are also injured and were admitted in the hospital, but police is not ready to listen to us.”

The police have denied allegations of detaining any women and said investigation is underway.

“We are yet to receive the medical reports of the suspect who was admitted in Civil Hospital and released. Once we get the report, we will verify it. We have requested villagers and family members of the suspects to support the police and have asked them to join the investigation. They should surrender so we can make headway,” the DCP said.

The police also said that during probe, the suspects said that one of them—the suspect who is injured and on the run—was the first to be slapped which triggered the incident.

The arrested accused will be produced before the district court on Tuesday and police remand will be demanded as needed to recover objects used in the alleged crime.