A 22-year-old man was beaten to death in Haryana's Palwal by three of his friends on Tuesday, 14 December, allegedly over communal differences.
A purported video of the incident, that was subsequently circulated on social media, shows the deceased, Rahul Khan, being pinned to the floor and beaten. His assaulters can be heard saying, "We are Hindus, Hindus. You are a Muslim, Muslim."
Meanwhile, Station House Officer (SHO) of Chandhat police station Ram Chandar Jakhar said that the police were yet to confirm if there was a communal angle to the incident, Hindustan Times reported.
All three suspects, identified as Aakash alias Diljale, Vishal, and Kalua, have been arrested and have been remanded into judicial custody, the Chandhat police said.
One of the accused men, Aakash, has told the police that while he shot the video that captures the crime, he had not beaten Khan himself. The police has recovered the phone used for the recording from Aakash.
The deceased's wife, Saina, said that Khan had gone to attend a wedding function with his friends on the evening of his death. “Kalua called us around 6 pm that Rahul has met with an accident near Nangal Road canal... He said they were taking him to a hospital and asked us to reach there,” she told HT.
When she reached the hospital, Saina was informed by her husband that five men, including Kalua, had beaten him with rods.
DSP (City) Palwal Yashpal Khatana told The Indian Express that the altercation had broken out due to suspected theft – Kalua's missing phone had been found on Khan, which had enraged the former.
The victim’s brother-in-law, Akram Khan, told the daily that the police should investigate if there is a communal angle to the murder.
(With inputs from The Indian Express and Hindustan Times.)
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