A Muslim boy identified as Ali was arrested by Assam Police in Cachar district on Friday, hours after he was fatally beaten up by a mob of Hindu youngsters for talking to a female friend in Narsinghpur.
The assailants reportedly tied Ali’s hands, removed his shirt and then pulled him by a rope and paraded him in front of a crowd.
The assailants accused him of “love jihad.” Ali and his friends were speaking when a group of youngsters from the Hindu community came up to them and inquired about his name. Upon knowing his religious identity, the mob allegedly assaulted them.
“They enquired my name and when I said Ali Ahmed, they started to hit me. There were 15-20 of them. I don’t know who they were,” Ali told the media and The Observer Post reported.
“Many others followed later,” he added.
According to the details, the mob removed Ali’s shirt, tied him to a pole, pulled him by a rope and then paraded him in front of a crowd. He was also seen bleeding while being dragged and paraded.
Reportedly the girl was also harassed and assaulted by the mob. The visuals that made rounds on the internet showed a woman pulling the girl’s hair while a group of men shouted in the background, demanding that she show her face.
Family’s Reaction
After the incident came to Ali’s family, they filed a complaint against the mob. Reportedly, The police have interrogated one minor so far and no arrests have been made.
According to Ali’s uncle, the situation worsened after the intervention of Bajrang Dal, a Hindutva group. “Ali was arrested after pressure was put on police by Bajrang Dal. Although my nephew is clearly seen badly injured in the videos, the police haven’t arrested anyone yet.”
Meanwhile, “Girl denied the claims of a relationship and said that they were classmates in class 10.” said a police officer.
According to Scroll, Cachar Superintendent of Police, Numal Mahatta said, “The boy was arrested based on the girl’s statement under POCSO charges.”
