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A 25-year-old Indore bangle seller who was brutally thrashed and abused, and allegedly looted by a group of men was on the evening of Monday, 23 August, arrested by police, sources told The Quint.
Earlier in the evening, an FIR had been registered against the man under nine sections, including two under the POCSO Act over allegations of molestation.
According to The Indian Express, the man had been booked under IPC Sections 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman), 354-A (sexual harassment), 467, 468, 471 (forgery), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation), along with under POCSO.
The action by the police came on a complaint by the minor daughter of one of the accused, who are locals of Banganga.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR?
The video of the incident where he was thrashed by the men has gone viral on social media. The video showed the men accusing him of harassing women on the pretext of selling bangles.
When the video went viral on social media, it also reached the in charge of Banganga police station, but the police argued that no one had complained yet.
People also protested and reached Indore's Central Police Station, demanding a case to be registered against the accused. However, by then the complainant had reached the Banganga police station, after which the police registered a case.
The FIR reads, "Around 2.30 pm five to six people came, asked my name and when I told my name, they started beating me. I had Rs 10,000 in cash which they snatched, they also snatched my mobile, my Aadhar card and other documents, and also robbed me of bangles worth about Rs 25,000. He repeatedly hurled (communal) abuses at me. They also strangulated me while beating me, and threw stones at me."
Three – Rakesh Panwar, Rajkumar Bhatnagar, and Vivek Vyas – out of the 14 accused were arrested as well and police added that they were in the process of identifying other accused.
Police have also registered a case against three members of the Muslim Nuamainda Committee who gheraoed the police station on Sunday. They have been charged for wrongful restraint, rioting, use of obscene words and criminal intimidation, reported The Indian Express.
WHY HAS THE BANGLE SELLER BEEN ARRESTED?
According to The Indian Express, the girl in her complaint said that the bangle seller had come to their house on Sunday, while her father was not at home, and said his name was Golu, presenting a half-burnt Aadhaar card.
“We began purchasing bangles from him. As my mother went inside to fetch money, the bangle seller looked at me in an indecent way and grabbed my hand, saying ‘I’ll help you wear bangles’. He also inappropriately touched my cheeks… which is when I shouted," she said, according to the report.
According to News18, the girl, a student of class VI, said she had then raised an alarm, following which locals had then beaten the bangle seller.
The police meanwhile said that they had recovered two Aadhaar cards from the bangle seller, one of which bears the name Tasleem and identifies him as the son of Mohar Ali, and one carries the name Aslim and names his father as Mohar Singh. The cops also said that they also found a burnt voter ID card, which is missing his name, but identifies his father as Mohan Singh.
The bangle seller however told the police that he had identified himself by the name 'Bhura’ (the name on his voter ID card) to the men who eventually beat him up.
According to The Indian Express, Ali said that when asked by one of the men if he was a Muslim, he had replied in the affirmative and given out the name Tasleem.
However, the bangle seller has denied using fake identity cards and said both IDs found on him are correct.
He said when the ID that was made back in his village, he had used a name that he was called by. But later, when the Aadhaar card was made, he put in his given name.
(With inputs from The Indian Express and News18.)
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