Six under probe for attacking family in Gurugram

On Friday, the police had arrested one of the main suspects, identified as Mahesh Kumar, a resident of Nayagaon, 1.5 kilometres from Dhumaspur. Kumar, along with his friends, had allegedly attacked the family members with sticks, batons, water pipes and iron rods.

The police on Saturday identified at least six more persons who had allegedly assaulted 12 members of a Muslim family in Dhumaspur village in Bhondsi on Thursday evening, after a cricket ball hit one of the suspects and led to an altercation between the two groups.

A view of the broken window panes at the house of the family that was assaulted by locals on Holi, at Bhoop Nagar village, in Gurugram, India, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)

On Saturday, the police formed five teams for conducting raids at suspected locations to arrest them.

On Friday, the police had arrested one of the main suspects, identified as Mahesh Kumar, a resident of Nayagaon, 1.5 kilometres from Dhumaspur. Kumar, along with his friends, had allegedly attacked the family members with sticks, batons, water pipes and iron rods.

The police said that both parties have suffered injuries.

“Our priority is to investigate and ensure that the family is safe and getting proper treatment. We have deployed a team outside their house to ensure their safety and security,” said Himanshu Garg, deputy commissioner of police (south).

Garg said the suspect, during questioning, revealed that he and his friend were returning home on a motorbike after playing Holi and were in an inebriated state, when a cricket ball hit them. They shouted at them following which one of the victims asked him to leave, the police said. The duo returned after 15 minutes along with 10 more people and started pelting stones and barged into their house. At least 12 people were injured in the attack.

The victims said they are living in fear as locals are pressuring them to compromise with the suspects. They also alleged that timely action by police could have averted the incident. “The police had been alerted about the brawl much before the situation turned ugly, but they took around one-and-a-half hours to reach the spot. By then, they had assaulted all of us, including the children,” said Mohammad Dilshad (32), the complainant in the case.

“Had the police acted swiftly, the situation could have been brought under control in time, saving us from the brutal assault and loss,” said Sajid (24), one of the victims.

The victims alleged that police took action only after the video went viral on social media on Friday. They arrested the suspects only after that, the family alleged.

Garg said they are enquiring the details of the first call received at the police control room on Thursday and will take action if a lapse is found against any official.

“None of them knew the other. Both sides were not aware of the other’s community, so there is no planned intention in the case. This was a spontaneous incident that took place after their tiff over the cricket ball and it took an ugly turn,” said Garg.

The victims, however, said that the suspects threatened them to move out of the village. “They said we should leave the village else, we would be burnt alive,” said Akhtar Siddique (46).

The family members said they got together at their residence in Bhoop Singh Nagar on Thursday. There were 20 relatives in the house when the suspects started pelting stones. “It started within a fraction of seconds — the women in the house rushed to close the main gate but they pushed them, assaulted them and barged into the house. They were holding different types of sticks and assaulted each one of us,” said Irshad (24), another victim.

A case has been registered against the suspects under section 148 , 149 , 307, 323, 427, 452 and 506 of the IPC at Bhondsi police station.