A 28-year-old man has accused a family in Panipat of attacking him owing to his religious identity without provocation and severing his right hand with a saw machine. The family, on the other hand, has accused him of abducting and sexually assaulting their seven-year-old child.
Separate FIRs have been registered in the two cases on the same day at different police stations, a fortnight after the incident.
Severed hand
Ikhlaque, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, in a FIR, said that he had come to Panipat on August 23 in search of work. He had walked to a park near railway tracks in Kishanpura. Around 1.30 a.m., he went to a house near the railway track to ask for drinking water. But the men in the house pulled him inside, beat him up and severed his right hand with a saw machine, the FIR stated.
The FIR does not mention that he was targeted for his religion, but Ikhlaque’s brother Ikram, speaking to The Hindu over phone, alleged that the men severed his arm because he had inscribed the holy “786” on it. He said his brother told the police about this, but the police omitted it from the FIR.
He also said that the said incident took place around 10.30 p.m.
Dumped on tracks
According to the FIR, the family dumped him on the railway tracks. He informed his relatives using a mobile phone of a passerby around 5 a.m. when he gained consciousness. He was then taken to a Civil Hospital and later referred to PGIMS, Rohtak. The FIR was lodged on September 7 after he was declared fit for statement. The Government Railway Police registered a zero FIR and later transferred it to Chandni Bagh police station.
Station House Officer GRP Panipat, sub-inspector Raj Kumar said the statement of Ikhlaque was recorded in the presence of his brother Ikram and bears their signatures.
Managed to escape
The family, in a separate FIR, said that Ikhaque abducted their child while they were asleep in the backyard of their house on August 23 night and was caught red-handed sexually assaulting him at a park nearby. The FIR said the man managed to escape and ran towards the railway tracks. The FIR was registered at Chandni Bagh police station.
Chandni Bagh SHO inspector Ankit Kumar said investigation so far had suggested that the child had gone missing on August 23 night and the family had an altercation with Ikhlaque. The child has also recorded his statement before the magistrate making similar allegations. “We are investigating as to how Ikhlaque sustained the injuries. He was found on the railway tracks and it could be an accident,” said Mr. Kumar.
