A day after filing an FIR in connection with the March 26 attack on three Madrasa students in Begumpur who allegedly refused to chant ‘Jai Mata Ki’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki’ Jai, the Delhi Police have arrested the five accused in the case.
The arrested men have purportedly denied attacking the three boys for their refusal to chant the slogans and claimed that the attack was the outcome of an argument over a cricket ball hitting one of them.
The accused have been identified as Aditya, Sagar, Ashu, Karamvir and Sachin. All of them are in their early 20s and come from well-off families which are into property business. Most of them have either dropped out of college or pursuing undergraduate courses through correspondence. They all live in all Pooth Kalan village of Outer Delhi.
“The arrested boys say that they were playing cricket at the Banswala or Bamboo Park when the ball suddenly hit one of the three boys. They further said that they were abused and that the accused had slapped, thus escalating the situation into a fight. We are verifying these claims,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Vikramjit Singh. Mr. Singh, however, added that the accused have admitted to have assaulted the three boys – Dilkash, Naeem and Ajmal and had even used the cricket bat for the purpose. Dilkash’s left hand was broken following the blows it sustained.
Mr. Singh clarified that the complaint submitted by Dilkash only has “Jai Mata Ki” as the attempted slogan the boys were told to chant but in their interaction with The Hindu on Tuesday, the three boys had claimed that they had been beaten up for not chanting “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” as well. Devendra Solanki, a local BJP legislator known to the arrested boys, said they are regular visitors of the park and play cricket on a daily basis. The Hindu also visited the park but no eyewitness was available although a gardener said playing cricket was an activity rarely seen there.
The teachers of Mohommadi Masjid Madrasa, where the boys are enrolled, dismissed the cricket theory and reiterated that the attack was unprovoked.
The accused
have claimed the argument was
over a cricket ball hitting one of them
