GURUGRAM: Daanishtha means being mindful or clever or intelligent. And this 21-year-old Daanishtha Siddiqui proved that she is.
She was quick and alert when she bravely filmed the attack on her brothers when they were thrashed and abused for playing cricket outside their residence on Holi in Gurugram‘s Bhondsi district.
According to a report in The Quint, she was busy in her kitchen frying aloo and gobi pakodas (potato and cauliflower fritters) when she heard loud noises and abuses from downstairs.
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When Daanishtha followed the screaming, she saw a mob of 25 men from the Hindu Gujjar community brandishing sticks and rods, attacking her family.
She heard them say “Pakistani hai ye! Pakistani hai ye!” repeatedly, report The Quint and kept hitting the men and women and on occasion children for more than 30 minutes.
According to the report, the braveheart then shot the entire episode while assisting her handicapped father, Mohammad Jamshad move upstairs to safety.
Soon, the mob spotted her with the phone and asked her to stop but she kept filming the incident while her other sisters struggling to keep the door shut encouraged her. While filimg the attack, she herself faced abuses and threats.
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“When they saw me they got angrier. They kept saying “Is ladki ko pakdo” (grab this girl) but I didn’t stop shooting,” she said as the attackers struggled to reach her.
“Chilla bhi main rahi thi, ro bhi main rahi thi aur video bhi main hi bana rahi thi. (I was the one screaming. I was the one crying and I was also the one shooting the video.)” says Daanishtha.
Based on the video footage, police nabbed six people but local police have officially arrested one of them and identified him as Mahesh Kumar, reported a leading news agency.