On 12th May, a Muslim mob came out on the streets to protest, raising slogans of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’, Allahu Akbar, and pelting stones in Bhopal, over alleged Hindu activists thrashing a Muslim man accused of love jihad with a Hindu woman. It has now emerged that of the seven arrested accused, not a single person is linked to Bajrang Dal or any ‘right-wing Hindu organisation’.
Govindpura SHO Awadhesh Singh Tomar said, “Representatives of right-wing organisations have informed that they are a disciplined organisation and these individuals are not their members.
One of the 7 accused persons is a juvenile. The others are Brijendra Prajapati, Prateek Chouksey, Lalaram Meena, Ramesh, Ajay and Aman.
As reported earlier, on 12th May, a Muslim mob of hundreds came out on the streets to protest, raising slogans of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ (beheading calls), Allahu Akbar, and pelting stones in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal. The mob came out after a Muslim man was caught with a Hindu woman in a hotel by Hindu activists.
An FIR was lodged by the police in connection with the incident, and three accused were arrested. Ayush Gupta, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Bhopal zone 1, said that the police are conducting searches to nab the remaining accused. “We are also analysing video footage to identify more people. We are also holding dialogue with the city Qazi and other leaders of the community,” DCP said.
The Muslim mob had turned violent and vandalised the vehicles parked on the streets, including police vehicles. The police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the mob. Subsequently, the police imposed Section 163 of the BNSS (Section 144 CrPC) to prohibit public gatherings in Peer Gate, Shahjahanabad, and the surrounding areas. Police personnel were deployed in the area to maintain peace.
It all began after some alleged ‘members of a Hindu organisation’ allegedly beat a Muslim man after he was found in a hotel room with a Hindu woman in the Gautam Nagar area of Bhopal. The incident happened on 9th May, when some activists received an input about a Muslim man and a Hindu woman meeting at the Pride Hotel.
Initial reports had claimed that a group of Bajrang Dal members arrived at the hotel and entered the room where the couple was staying. They reportedly dragged the Muslim man named Arif Khan out of the room and stripped him half-naked. They smeared his face with ink and cow dung and paraded him through the street.
The Muslim accused was recently released from jail, however, after it emerged that he was previously involved in two cases of mobile phone thefts, the police arrested him again.
