AGENCIES / Gurugram
Members of a Muslim family in Gurgaon’s Dhamaspur village and guests who had come to visit them were beaten with sticks and rods, allegedly by 20-25 men, who barged into their home and attacked them on Holi evening.
Following the attack on a family belonging to a Muslim community in Gurugram’s Bhup Singh Nagar under the Bhondsi Police Station on the day of Holi, the area continued to be tense on Saturday.
As many as 20-25 goons assaulted the family members following a row over the latter playing cricket on the day of Holi on March 21. A video of assault has gone viral on the social media.
A large number of people assembled outside the house of Mohamad Shamshad, the victim, on Saturday.
According to Himanshu Garg, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), South District, the two parties had angry exchanges after a cricket ball allegedly hit one person.
As per reports, the family members were also told to go to Pakistan.
The police first rounded up six people on the basis of video footage, shot by one family member, but five of them were released later. One person, identified as Mahesh Kumar, was arrested.
During the attack, some persons barged inside the house while others pelted stones from outside. The attackers kept thrashing victims even as the family members, including women, pleaded for mercy.
“A case has been filed under Sections 149, 307, 323, 427, 452 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code against unknown persons at the Bhondsi Police Station. We are in the process of identifying the accused,” Garg said.
“A Police Control Room (PCR) van has been stationed outside the victim’s house. No further violence has been reported from the area,” Garg said.
Meanwhile, the victim’s father Mohamad Shamshad claimed they tried to contact the local police many times, but they didn’t come to their rescue as attackers kept thrashing them for about half-an-hour.
Every Patriotic Indian is disgusted by the video of a family in #Gurugram being mercilessly beaten by hooligans. The RSS/ BJP channelises bigotry & hatred for political power. This incident serves as a warning of the dangerous consequences & the dark side of that strategy.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 23, 2019
In a video shared on Twitter, the suspects are seen attacking several men with sticks, while several people, including women, blocked the gate of the house terrace. According to the medico-legal report (MLR), 11 persons sustained injuries.
The police has increased patrolling and deployed a team to keep law and order in check.
Himanshu Garg, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), South, said the suspects had been identified through the video. “In the statement, the victims mentioned that they did not know the suspects. The rumours that it was a communal incident are false,” he said.
A case was registered against at least 15 persons under sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 307 (attempt-to-murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code at Bhondsi police station on Thursday.