Kanpur: Bail in 24 Hours for 3 Arrested Over Assault of Muslim Man
Lucknow: Three people arrested for assaulting a Muslim man in Kanpur and forcing him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' were released on bail within 24 hours on Friday, August 13.
Videos of the assault had gone viral on social media and showed Afsar Ahmad (45) being assaulted by a group of men on the road in broad daylight and eventually in the presence of the police.
The men accused him of raising anti-national slogans and forced him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'. Ahmad was seen pleading repeatedly with the mob as his five-year-old daughter was in tears and also requesting people not to beat her father.
Eventually police rescued Ahmad and his daughter from the mob and took them to a police station in a jeep. As The Wire has noted in an earlier report, in the video Ahmad was seen being hit by attackers even in police custody.
The three accused have been identified as Aman Gupta, Ajay Rajesh “Band Wala”, Aman Gupta and Rahul Kumar.
Bajrang Dal protest
Following the arrest of the trio last night, the members of the Bajrang Dal had held a massive protest outside the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Raveena Tyagi.
Members of the extremist Hindutva group had demanded the release of three arrested accused. During the demonstration, slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ were also raised by them.
Senior officers 0f the local administration held talks with the members of the Bajrang Dal, following which the protest was called off.
Govindnagar ACP Vikas Kumar Pandey told The Wire over phone that the accused had been booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code that have fewer than seven years of punishment and as per court guidelines, people accused under such sections should be granted bail.
Also read: 'Say Jai Shri Ram', Killers of Muslim Man in NCR Said, Police Deny Murder Was Hate Crime
An FIR against the three men along with around 10 unidentified people was lodged under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
"During COVID-19, the court has asked to follow these guidelines strictly in order to avoid overcrowding in jails...The bail was granted by a local court after the filing of a personal bond and we released them after receiving the orders," ACP Pandey added.
Pandey said police have been raiding several places to make more arrests in this case, as seven more accused – Don, Keshu Neta, Ramesh, Rani, etc. – have been absconding.
The victim is reported to have been related to a Muslim family, which was involved in a legal battle with their Hindu neighbours. Local administration said earlier in July both the families had filed cases against each other.
According to sources, the Bajrang Dal subsequently got involved in the dispute, gave it a communal colour and alleged “forcible conversion” by the Muslim family.
Kanpur DCP (South) Raveena Tyagi on August 12 went to meet Ahmad's family and told the media that the police and PAC force were deployed in the town to avoid any untoward incidents.
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