A day after a Muslim man was allegedly assaulted by a crowd outside a mosque in Hisar town of Haryana, the police on Wednesday arrested the main accused who worked at the local auto market in Hisar.
He was being interrogated.
“Anil was the person who slapped Muhammad Haroon, a mango trader, outside the mosque yesterday... Initial interrogation reveals he is not associated with the Bajrang Dal,” Deputy Superintendent of Police (law and order), Hisar, Jitender Singh, told, The Hindu .
Bajrang Dal protest
The incident took place on Tuesday evening when activists of the Bajrang Dal gathered outside the mosque at Lahoriya Chowk in Hisar town to protest the attack on Amarnath pilgrims.
“Around 100-125 unidentified people were protesting outside the mosque, after burning an effigy of “terrorism,” said Mr. Singh. “A few members of the mob became agitated and starting kicking the door of the mosque. Hearing the commotion, Mr. Haroon came out and he was then manhandled and slapped by members of the mob, according to a complaint filed by the mosque’s care taker Abid Hussain.”
Mr. Singh said a case under section 295A of the the Indian Penal Code (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) had been registered against “'unknown people.” Other relevant sections of the IPC, including 296, 153A, 323, 506, 147 and 149, had been added.
Mr. Singh said Mr. Harmon was not an ‘Imam’ of the mosque as was reported in some quarters. “The other accused are yet to be identified and I can’t comment at this point whether they are members of the Bajrang Dal,” he said.
Denies allegation
Bajrang Dal’s Hisar unit leader Kapil Vats has refuted the allegations. “Let me assure you that no one from the Bajrang Dal has any role in the incident. We only protested against attack on Amarnath pilgrims and terrorism. When then left. What happened after, that we don’t know,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, a video showing a person slapping Mr. Harron as a crowd coaxes him to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ has gone viral on the internet.
