In Telangana’s Mahabubnagar district, a man named B Santosh was brutally assaulted by a Muslim mob of over 2-dozen people on March 1. As per reports, the mob was outraged over a social media post about the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The victim, B Santosh, runs a street-side stall near the government hospital in Mahabubnagar. He had shared a post about Khamenei’s death at the hands of Israeli and US forces on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. The post was subsequently circulated on a local WhatsApp group.
Some local Muslims, enraged over the post, reportedly surrounded Santosh’s stall at around 9 pm on March 1. They started beating him, pushing and shoving him. They also kicked him and stomped on him repeatedly. Santosh has reported to the police that he has suffered injuries on his face, neck and lips.
Despite Santosh’s attempts to plead to the mob to spare him, the mob continued its assault. A shopkeeper from a nearby stall eventually intervened and rescued Santosh. The victim has stated that the mob was violent and he could have lost his life in their assault if the shopkeeper had not intervened. Santosh added that some people from the mob also came back later to search for him after midnight, and he was told by his friends not to go outside.
As per NDTV, Mahabubnagar Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Venkateswarlu has confirmed the assault on Santosh, adding that 11 people were named in the FIR. The police have arrested 9 of the 11 accused persons.
The case has been registered under the relevant charges related to instigation, assault and conspiracy. Police have increased patrolling in the area to prevent such incidents in the future.
