Day on, 6 suspects identified
GURUGRAM : The police on Saturday identified at least six more persons who had allegedly assaulted 12 members of a Muslim family in Dhumaspur village in Bhondsi on Thursday evening, after a cricket ball hit one of the suspects and led to an altercation between the two groups. The police have formed five teams for conducting raids at suspected locations on Saturday to arrest them.
On Friday, the police had arrested one of the main suspects, identified as Mahesh Kumar, a resident of Nayagaon, 1.5 kilometres from Dhumaspur. Kumar, along with his friends, had allegedly attacked the family members with sticks, batons, water pipes and iron rods. The police said that both parties have suffered injuries.
“Our priority is to investigate and ensure that the family is safe and getting proper treatment. We have deployed a team outside their house to ensure their safety and security,” said Himanshu Garg, deputy commissioner of police (south).
Garg said the suspect, during questioning, revealed that he and his friend were returning home on a motorbike after playing Holi and were in an inebriated state, when a cricket ball hit them. They shouted at them following which one of the victims asked him to leave, the police said. The duo returned after 15 minutes along with 10 more people and started pelting stones and barged into their house. At least 12 people were injured in the attack.
The victims said they are living in fear as locals are pressuring them to compromise with the suspects. They also alleged that timely action by police could have averted the incident. “The police had been alerted about the brawl much before the situation turned ugly, but they took around oneand-a-half hours to reach the spot. By then, they had assaulted all of us, including the children,” said Mohammad Dilshad (32), the complainant in the case.
“Had the police acted swiftly, the situation could have been brought under control in time, saving us from the brutal assault and loss,” said Sajid (24), one of the victims.