A 19-year-old man - Ayan Murtuza Bagwan - was allegedly thrashed, stripped naked, and urinated upon by a group of 12-15 men in Maharashtra's Solapur. The incident took place on 6 March.
The police said that this was after several incidents of allegedly eve-teasing women and making untoward advances, including on a minor.
Bagwan, a vegetable vendor, was allegedly taken to an isolated spot on 6 March and was beaten by men believed to related to one of the women, the police said.
The police has arrested at least six of the 12 men accused of allegedly abducting and thrashing him. Bagwan also has two FIRs against him, including one under the The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
What the FIR Stated
In the FIR filed by Bagwan at a police station in Solapur's Shelgi, he alleged that at around 1:15 pm on 6 March, he returned home after selling vegetables and was approached by one of the accused, Samarth Khubba, on the pretext of wanting to have a conversation with him.
Bagwan alleged that Khubba, along with a friend, forced him to accompany them on a bike to a place outside the city where they first thrashed him with a stick and a belt.
"They said that I should not come to sell vegetables in their locality and asked me why I was teasing women. Khubba, Bhaiji, Abhishek Dulange, and three-four other unknown men kicked and punched me. While Khubba thrashed me with a stick, Bhaiji used a belt," Bagwan alleged.
Bagwan in the FIR claimed that the boys then used his phone to call his friend Yaseen Patel and called him at the spot and thrashed him too.
"They stripped me naked while thrashing me and Bhaiji forced me to chant Jai Shri Ram. One of them then urinated on me. They then asked both of us to dress up and while we were returning to Solapur, they abandoned us after they saw a police van," Bagwan alleged.
Bagwan said that the police first got them to the station and then took them to the hospital for medical treatment.
The FIR has been registered against the 12 accused and three-four unknown people under Sections 143 (punishment for being a member of an unlawful assembly), 147 (guilty of rioting), 363 (punishment for kidnapping), 327 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 148 (armed with deadly weapon during rioting that is likely to cause death),149 (guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), and 50 (Person arrested to be informed of grounds of arrest and of right to bail) of the Indian Penal Code.
'Not a Communal Issue': Police
Addressing the media on 11 March, the police said that six of the accused have been arrested and the search for others is underway. The police, however, warned against giving the issue a communal colour.
"One of the girls who has complained against Bagwan is a minor and a case had already been registered under Section 354 and POCSO. In the investigation so far, we have also come across technical evidence that he (Bagwan) would get access to the phone numbers of girls when they paid via PhonePe and download their pictures from their WhatsApp statuses and display pictures. He would try to approach them and send messages. The relatives of one of the woman who had registered a case against him under IPC Section 354 told their relatives about him and that is where matters escalated from," said Solapur Commissioner of Police M Rajkumar while addressing the media.
"Nevertheless, whoever has taken law in their own hands, a case has been registered against them and strict action will be taken. At the same time, we can see that there is an attempt to give the issue a communal colour. The matter has stemmed from his untoward advances to women and the people known to one of those women took matters in their own hands which is incorrect," he said.
He further said that the police is keeping a close eye on social media for anynody with vested interests attemepting to give the episode a communal colour.
CP Rajkumar further said that the police is in touch with doctors treating Bagwan and he does not have any major injuries. Bagwan is currently being treated at a private hospital in Solapur.
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