Mumbai: A 23-year-old man was attacked with sharp weapons by a mob in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, accusing him of supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party. Nupur Sharma He was seriously injured on social media, police said on Saturday.
Four main accused have been arrested in connection with the incident that took place on August 4.
A senior official said it was too early to say anything about the motive behind the attack as the investigation was in the preliminary stage.
The man, identified as Prateek alias Sunny Rajendra Pawar, was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital for injuries to the head and other parts of the body, a police official said.
At least 14 members of the Muslim community attacked Pawar with swords, sickles, sticks and hockey sticks on Thursday evening in front of a medical shop at Akkabai Chowk in Karjat city, 222 km from Ahmednagar district headquarters.
The incident took place when the complainants in the case, Pawar and Amit Mane, were going to attend an event on their two-wheeler and were waiting for a friend near the medical shop, the official said.
While they were waiting for a friend, some members of the Muslim community approached them on two-wheelers. According to the First Information Report (FIR), they were carrying a sword, sickle and a hockey stick.
Mane, in his complaint filed on Friday, said that one of them shouted at Pawar saying that he had written a post on social media in support of Nupur Sharma and also posted a status on Instagram after Kanhaiya Lal and attacked him. .
Kanhaiya Lal was allegedly murdered by two Muslim men in June in Udaipur for sharing a social media post in support of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, which sparked a huge controversy over her comments on Prophet Mohammad.
The attackers threatened Pawar that he too would face the same fate as Umesh Kolhe. The official, citing the FIR, said that one of the attackers hit Pawar in the eye.
Kolhe, a chemist, was murdered in Maharashtra’s Amravati district over his alleged support for Nupur Sharma on social media. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is investigating the case.
After Pawar was injured, Mane called two of his friends and they took Pawar to the government hospital.
A senior police officer said it was too early to link the attack to Pawar’s social media posts, if any.
“Though there is a mention of Pawar’s social media post in support of Nupur Sharma (in the complaint), it is too early to say anything about it as the investigation is on,” he said.
He said Pawar has a criminal background and two cases are pending against him.
Pawar was earlier exiled for his criminal activities.
Another police officer said, “During the investigation so far, we have not found Pawar’s social media post supporting Nupur Sharma. We are checking all his social media accounts including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.”
He said the victim had some old enmity with the members of a group, which may have led to the attack.
Against 14 people under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 143 (being a member of an unlawful assembly), rioting, 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to incite contravention) FIR was registered. Peace) Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the four main accused were arrested.
Condemning the incident, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane said Pawar was surrounded by 10 to 15 people from the Muslim community and questioned why he was keeping Nupur Sharma’s picture as his DP and asked others to do the same. are asking for.
“After the attack, Prateek Pawar received 35 stitches (during treatment). He is fighting for his life,” he claimed.
“I want to warn that if Hindus are targeted like this, our hands are not tied. We will not keep silent till all the accused are arrested. Some of them are still absconding. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is monitoring the matter. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik are not in power yet. The attackers of Hindus will be given a similar reply. We follow the constitution of BR Ambedkar. There is no Sharia law in this country. ,” he told reporters in Mumbai.
Union Minister Narayan Rane’s son Nitesh also claimed that Hindu deities are insulted on social media.
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