By The Wire Staff
New Delhi: A 21-year-old Muslim man in Maharashtra was paraded and beaten to death and his family members assaulted when they attempted to save him over suspicion that he was close to a 17-year-old Hindu girl, reports say. Some of the reports have identified the accused as members of a Hindutva group.
Indian Express has reported, quoting police, that eight people have been arrested from around Jalgaon since the incident took place on August 11. It is not known which sections have been invoked against them.
Four who were arrested on August 12 are Abhishek Rajkumar Rajput (22), Ghanshyam alias Suraj Bihari Lal Sharma (25), Deepak Bajirao (20) and Ranjat alias Ranjit Ramkrishna Matade (48). Four more who were arrested on August 13 are Aditya Devade, Krishna Teli, Shejwal Teli and Rishikesh Teli, all in their mid-20s.
Suleman Rahim Khan Pathan, of the Chhoti Betawad village, was attacked after he was seen with a Hindu woman from the same village at a cafe in Jamner, a relative named Abdullah Pathan told Scroll. He told the outlet that Suleman had left home for Jamner to fill a police recruitment form, but said he did not know anything about the girl.
This cafe was just metres from the local police station, reported Maktoob Media.
The Indian Express report quoted a policeman as having said that 8-10 people showed up and began checking his mobile phone after snatching it from him. Once intercepted, reported Maktoob, Suleman was dragged into a vehicle, driven to three or four different spots, and repeatedly assaulted before being brought back to his village for the fatal attack.
When Suleman’s parents and sister tried to rescue him, the men assaulted them as well, the police officer quoted by Indian Express said. Suleman’s father Rahim was quoted by the newspaper as having said that his 80-year-old father – Suleman’s grandfather – was also punched and kicked when he tried to step in.
Eventually, Suleman lost consciousness. After the accused left him for dead, villagers took him a hospital in a bike. The hospital, reported Scroll, refused to admit him as it did not have the specialisation needed to treat him. The family then took him to a civil hospital, where he was declared dead at 4.30 pm.
Suleman’s father has said that the story of him and the girl having been in a relationship was entirely concocted.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.