On Saturday, a 52-year-old Muslim auto driver named Gapphar Ahmad had reportedly claimed that he was thrashed by miscreants in Sikar in Rajasthan. He alleged that the assaulters forced him to chant slogans such as ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Modi Zindabad.’
Accused demanded tobacco and alcohol
As per the report, the victim had lodged a complaint at the Sikar Sadar police station after he was brutally assaulted by a group of people. According to the Sikar police officials, the incident took place at Kalyan Circle when Ahmed was returning from the village after deboarding his passengers. The accused had initially asked for tobacco and money to purchase alcohol, following which a verbal confrontation ensued between the victim and the perpetrators.
Sikar police arrests accused within an hour
Reportedly, the accused had chased the auto driver, assaulted him brutally, and snatched money from the victim. The Sikar police nabbed the accused within an hour of the registration of the First Information Report (FIR). Their pickup van has also been seized by cops, The development was confirmed by the station-in-charge Pushpendra Singh. He informed that the accused were intoxicated and the assault was committed with an intention to rob the victim.
No confirmation on the ‘communal angle’
Reportedly, the accused have a long criminal history of robbery, loot, and assault. They have been identified as one Shambhu Dayal and Rajendra. While Shambhu has 6 cases registered in his name, Rajendra too has a history of assault and several cases have been registered against him under SC/ST Act. While OpIndia does not rule out the presence of any communal angle, the media have irresponsibly attributed several instances of regular criminal assault as ‘hate crimes against Muslims.’
Media peddles fake communal agenda
Last year in July, reports emerged that a Muslim auto driver named Aatib was allegedly locked up inside a public toilet by three people in Kanpur for refusing to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram.’ The Telegraph had reported that Aatib was asked by the customers who hired his auto to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ after they refused to pay the fare. However, the allegations that Aatib was forced to chant Jai Shri Ram turned out to be false. According to Police, the men who boarded Aatib’s auto were drunk and matters escalated when they refused to pay the fare and got into a heated argument. However, Aatib was not forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as claims made by Aatib. SP South Raveena Tyagi confirmed to OpIndia that the news of Aatib being forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ was false.
