The ruse was that the boy allegedly posted video of a girl on Instagram. According to Rauf, Sahil’s father, his son was targeted by the Bajrang Dal on a false claim and that his son does not even know about any such video

By Ahmed Qasim / Clarion India

NEW DELHI – In what appears to be a hate crime, a Muslim youth, Sahil Siddiqui (17), was beaten up by Bajrang Dal workers on August 7 in the Gulaothi police station area of Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. The ruse was that the boy allegedly posted video of a girl on Instagram.

The matter came to light when a video viral of a mob bashing up a young boy went viral on Twitter. According to Rauf, Sahil’s father, his son was targeted by the Bajrang Dal on a false claim. He said it all started with the police visiting them at their house asking them to come to the police station as a case was being registered in the name of his son.

Recounting the incident to Clarion India, Rauf said, “When I was heading to the police station with Sahil, some Bajrang Dal workers stopped us on the way on a plea that they wanted to settle the matter matter outside the police station. When we asked them to first tell us what was the matter, they told us that Sahil had made a video of a girl and her family has a complaint against him.”
Sahil’s uncle, Salman, who was on the spot told Clarion India, “The Bajrang Dal workers surrounded us expecting us to part with some money to cover up the matter, but we refused to pay to oblige saying why we should when we had not committed any crime?”

By then a boy in the crowd, Adesh Chauhan, started beating Sahil. There were more than 20 in number, they all joined in and assaulting Sahil which is evident from the viral video. He was beaten up so badly that he sustained a deep injury in the ribs and fracture in his nose bone. Salman says if they were not on the spot, Sahil would have been killed. Somehow we could manage to rescue Sahil and reach the police station.

A student of class XI, Sahil sits on the shop of his father, Rauf, who is a goldsmith. Rauf says his son was not even aware of the said video before, nor any girl’s family complained to him about it. Asked why then his son was beaten up so badly, he said he had no clue. Meanwhile, Sahil’s condition is deteriorating.

According to the news appearing in Navbharat Times on Sunday, Adesh Chauhan reached the police station after trapping a Muslim youth for posting the video of a girl on Instagram in the Gulavathi police station area of Bulandshahr. The Bajrang Dal workers are also accused of beating up the youth. There was a dispute between the police and the Bajrang Dal activist regarding the matter.
After this, four people, including the district president of the Bajrang Dal, were taken into custody by the police. As soon as the information about their arrest was received, the Bajrang Dal workers and officials reached the police station. They held a demonstration outside the police station.

Gulavathi Kotwal Akhilesh Tripathi has been transferred to Secunderabad for beating the district convener of Bajrang Dal. The SSP had transferred Kotwal Akhilesh Tripathi from Jahangirabad Kotwali to Gulavathi Kotwali two days ago. Kotwal is accused of beating the Chouhan. The SSP has handed over the investigation into the case to ASP Alka Singh. According to the SSP, further action will be taken on the basis of the investigation report.

We tried to contact the Bulandshahr Police, but received no worthwhile response from them. However, ASP Alka, who is investigating the matter, said the investigation is on, something can be said only after the completion of the investigation.

This article first appeared in clarionindia.net