Shahbaz talking to reporters on Thursday
On January 3, a young Muslim man called Shahbaz was thrashed and beaten brutally by a group of Hindu men in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh.
According to reports, Shahbaz was conversing with a Hindu girl from the same village as his, and they were said to be discussing books.
On January 17, a video went viral where Shahbaz can be seen surrounded by angry Hindu men who continuously slapped the young Muslim man until someone from the crowd suggested to ‘fix his legs’.
A scared Shahbaz was then beaten with a huge rod repeatedly as he screamed for help.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Shahbaz said, “A few people came, asked my name, and abducted me near S N College. They took me to the parking lot of Megamart Mall and started slapping and thrashing me. They also took my money. Afterward, they lodged a false complaint against me.”
The complaint was Shahbaz was harassing the Hindu girl under the pseudonym Anand. Shahbaz claims the information is false and there is no truth in it. He also filed a counter-complaint on the same day stating he was kidnapped by a group of men and beaten up for nearly two hours.
Shahbaz registered a case at City Kotwali police station in Khandwa. When Siasat.com spoke to the station’s head constable Shankar Kasde, he confirmed the assault and added that six people have been arrested so far.
“Based on Shahbaz’s complaint, we have arrested six people who were in the crowd. They are currently in jail,” the police official said.
When asked if the men belonged to any Hindutva organisation, the head constable replied negatively. “They are just students. They do not belong to any organisations,” he said.
A case was registered against the six people under Sections 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 294 (sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
This post was last modified on January 19, 2023 6:38 pm