By MEER FAISAL
A 22-year-old blogger and social media influencer Samir Ansari from Umra village in Gujarat’s Surat district who was brutally attacked by cops for not wearing a mask is in hospital in a critical condition, the family said.
The incident happened on 22 July.
“At around 9:10 pm on 22 July, Ammi (mother) called to Samir’s mobile phone to come home for dinner. The bell rang but he didn’t attend the call. Following several attempts, police picked up Ammi’s call and told us that Samir’s vehicle met with an accident and he was admitted to Civil Hospital. We reached the hospital soon. Samir was brought to the hospital in a naked condition. Later, we shifted him to the Apple Hospital in the city. Now, the doctors told us that he has multiple fractures in his head and my brother is in very critical condition,” Samir’s elder brother Tanveer Ansari told Maktoob.
Accusing the police, Tanveer Ansari said that the cops attacked his brother brutally because of his Muslim identity.
“He was attacked because of his Muslim identity. There are many hate crimes against Muslims in the state. It is just a new episode of those crimes,” said Ansari.
“He is just 22 years old. A high school graduate who has been treated so brutally only because of his religious identity,” he added.
Samir is very active on social media platforms with more than 20000 followers on Instagram. “Influencer! Model! /Travelling…,” reads his bio on Instagram.
“My brother was wearing a mask but after drinking coffee, he didn’t wear the mask properly. The cops are saying that he jumped from the van after which he got hurt. It is false. When we went to pick him up, why were there no clothes on his body? There are many other injuries on his body, which clearly shows that the policemen had brutally beaten him first and when his health deteriorated, they took him to the hospital. Now, they are accusing my brother falsely,” Ansari went on to say.
Ansari told Maktoob that he will approach the judiciary against the policmen who attacked his brother.
The police sources told Maktoob that the City Commissioner of Police and the high echelons have been asked to investigate and take action against the responsible cops.
This story first appeared on maktoobmedia.com