Saharanpur: A 35-year-old Muslim carpenter in Saharanpur district was beaten to death for allegedly hitting a minor last Thursday. In a video going viral, he is seen lying in fatal position surrounded by attackers wielding sticks.
According to an FIR filed at Deoband police station, the mob cornered the victim, Israr, at Dehra village and beat him with sticks and rods. Israr was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died during treatment.
Police gives another angle
The police giving a different angle to the case said that it was not a case of “lynching”, pointing out that another FIR was filed in the same station against Israr under charges of attempt to murder. Moreover, police are yet to make any arrest.
“The police were informed of the incident on Thursday evening that a man, Israr, has been attacked by a crowd. Upon investigation, it was found that on the same day, this man had robbed a person of a motorcycle and had attacked a minor with a sharp object. The villagers in retaliation for the injured child attacked the accused. During the assault, the accused sustained fatal injuries. The family of Israr has named 11 persons and arrests will be made soon,” said Saharanpur City SP Vineet Bhatnagar.
According to the police, Israr was hot headed, which allegedly led him to steal the motorcycle and attack the child.
Israr’s brother gives statement
Describing the attack, Israr’s brother Gulfam said in the FIR, “At around 6.30 pm I was told by locals that they are beating up my brother in village Dehra. As I reached the place, I saw the accused were assaulting him with sticks and rods. They were also using a sharp weapon and Israr had been tied up. When I told them to stop, they beat him up even more. I called 112 after which he was rushed to a hospital. He was attacked for no fault of his.”
“They are saying that he injured a child (while riding his motorcycle) . I met that child and he is fine but they have destroyed our peace,” Gulfam, younger brother of Israr, told local newspaper.
“As Israr was riding his bike, the child had accidentally got injured. I wish if they had lodged a complaint or kept him captive but they turned into demons and killed him,” he adds.
Israr is survived by his 3 small children and a pregnant wife. His eldest daughter is 6 years old. “We haven’t told anything to the children. His body was not in such condition that we could show it to them,” said Gulfam.
Gulfam added the untimely death of Israr has come as trauma for their family and Israr’s eldest brother is in depression after the incident.
The relatives are worried about the survival of the family as Israr was the only earning member.
FIR Copy:
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1274773286241488896/photo/1
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1274773286241488896/photo/2
https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1274773286241488896/photo/3
According to victim’s family, Israr had left the house in Imaliya village for work an hour before Gulfam received the phone call.
The FIR filed on the basis of the complaint of the victim’s family has been registered under sections 302 (murder), 147 (rioting), 342 (wrongful confinement). The accused named in the FIR are Sunda, Dharmveer, Rohit, Nitin, Johru, Satu, Dharmendra, Ravi, and Vijay. Two others have not been identified yet. All the accused are from Dehra, said the police.