On Thursday, April 7, many mainstream media houses reported that a man named Kamran was thrashed by a mob in the Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh for praising PM Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath. Soon after the news was reported by media outlets, social media users began widely sharing it on the microblogging site Twitter.
बरेली में एक मुस्लिम युवक की मोहल्ले के लोगों ने इसलिए जमकर पिटाई कर दी, क्योंकि उसने प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी और मुख्यमंत्री योगी आदित्यनाथ की तारीफ की थी. कामरान ने पीएम मोदी को राम और योगी को कृष्ण बताते हुए उनकी तारीफ़ की थी. गुस्साए मोहल्ले के लोगों ने उसकी पिटाई कर दी. pic.twitter.com/3bouNikAB9
— Suryakant (@suryakantvsnl) April 7, 2022
पीएम मोदी को राम और सीएम योगी को कृष्ण बताने पर मुस्लिम व्यक्ति कामरान की मोहल्ले वालों ने पिटाई दी, अस्पताल में भर्ती
— आदित्य तिवारी / Aditya Tiwari (@aditytiwarilive) April 7, 2022
बरेली पुलिस ने इस मामले में आईपीसी की धारा 323, 506 के तहत केस दर्ज… pic.twitter.com/imDrqiq4Qt
A report by Live Hindustan said that Kamran equated PM Modi to Lord Ram and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath to Lord Krishna. Reportedly Kamran had also praised the Central and the state government’s announced schemes. This infuriated members of the locality, who then, in their fit of rage, brutally assaulted him, leaving him critically injured.
Kamran, who suffered serious head injuries in the incident was rushed to the district hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment.
On the same development, a News18 Hindi report stated that Kamran had told the media that he had confessed before the mob that he had voted for the BJP in the last concluded Assembly elections. He had further told them that PM Modi was an embodiment of Lord Ram. He also praised PM Modi’s approach to leadership and the roles he took on as a leader. Kamran went on to say that he saw CM Yogi as Lord Krishna, who takes care of his people’s most basic needs, such as food and healthcare.
News18 Hindi further quoted Kamran as stating that he was assaulted two days earlier also, but this attack was a more lethal one. He has urged BJP workers to support him as he supports them.
The report further mentioned that the police have begun an investigation based on Kamran’s complaint by filing an FIR against five people. According to Inspector Neeraj Malik of the Baradari police station, Kamran’s nephew along with his aides thrashed him and a formal complaint has been filed against the 5 suspects.
Hindi Asianet News quoted Kamran as saying that some religious fundamentalists took offence to his statements praising the BJP government in the state and the centre and attacked him.
After the incident was widely reported, the Bareilly police issued a statement and a video byte on its official Twitter account. While it confirmed that Kamran was assaulted, it did not confirm the media claims that he was assaulted for praising PM Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath. The police said that they are checking the veracity of the claims made by various media outlets.
The police confirmed that based on Kamran’s complaint, an FIR under IPC sections 323 and 506 has been filed against his three relatives. The police confirmed that Kamran had said in his complaint that his relatives had beaten him up in the middle of the road and even threatened to kill him.
थाना बारादरी पर वादी की तहरीरी सूचना पर अभियोग पंजीकृत है। वादी द्वारा F.I.R में दर्शायें गये तथ्यों से भिन्न कुछ नई बाते सोशल मीडिया पर बताई गयी है,जिसके सम्बन्ध में विस्तृत साक्ष्य संकलन करते हुए अग्रेतर विधिक कार्यवाही की जायेगी, के सम्बन्ध में #SSPBareilly की बाईट। #UPPolice https://t.co/pG1aLRssSY pic.twitter.com/Ub4Bb0y2yI
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) April 7, 2022
The police further added some additional information has been shared on electronic and social media regarding the case. The media has quoted the victim as saying some things which he did not mention in the complaint filed by him at Baradari Police station.
The Bareilly police added that they are attempting to contact the victim and that they will conduct a prompt and impartial investigation of the case only after verifying the veracity of the additional information provided by media outlets.
In a similar case that happened recently, many media houses had extensively reported how a man named was beaten up by his neighbours for putting up a BJP flag in his neighbourhood. They further added that Shakeel had alleged that his neighbours threatened him with gouging his eyes out and slitting his neck. Some media organisations even linked this entire matter to the incident of Babar Ali of Kushinagar.
Then too Kanpur Police swung into action to get to the bottom of the truth. In a video released by the police, Shakeel’s neighbour, Rajendra Singh, debunked the false claims that were being bandied around on social media platforms and by various news organisations.
