hree Muslim youth claim they were beaten up by unidentified men at a park in Outer Delhi’s Begampur area on Saturday, allegedly because they refused to chant slogans such as “Jai Mata Ki” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”.
While the incident took place on March 26 and police complaint submitted the same day, a police case was registered late on Tuesday evening.
“We are trying to zero in on the accused and also need to verify the sequence. For now we have registered a case of causing hurt and wrongful restraint as further probe in the case is on,” said a police officer.
The victims — Dilkash, Ajmal and Naeem — all aged around 18, are students of a madrasa and live in Mohammadi Mosque in Ramesh Enclave. Dilkash claimed his hand was fractured in the incident.
The alleged attack took place at Baanswaala or Bamboo Park around 6 p.m. last Saturday.
While the boys claimed the attack on them was unprovoked, a police officer said the sequence of events would be established only after the suspects are arrested.
“We were taking a stroll around the park when one of the five men hit Ajmal on the back of his head. Before we could make sense of what was going on, they started abusing us and ordered us to chant Jai Mata Ki, which we refused to do,” said Dilkash. Ajmal and Naeem added that they were asked to chant slogans such as Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Pakistan Murdabad.
But, the refusals met with an instant backlash as the attackers thrashed them with green bamboo stalks. The boys claimed that somehow they managed to escape and run back to the mosque before calling the police control room. The police then took them to the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.
Dilkash’s injuries were more severe than that of the other two. While speaking to The Hindu , the boys claimed they had seen the suspects in the area in the past and a couple of them stayed in an adjoining locality but said they had no enmity or even acquaintance with them. In his statement to the police, however, Dilkash has given two names – Pintu and Sahil – but without added details such as addresses or names.
“We were waiting to receive the medical reports,” said the officer explaining the reasons for the delay in registering a case. Meanwhile area residents said there was no history of communal tension despite the mixed population.
The youth alleged that an unidentified group of men asked them to chant sensitive slogans
