Jailed for sedition, 15 men hit, made to clean toilets
RECOUNTING HORROR The men who allegedly celebrated Pak victory say jail inmates were hostile towards them We were made to clean toilets and drains in the Khandwa jail and were called traitors by inmates. In jail, nearly a dozen senior jail inmates slapped each one of us and abused us Before the magistrate, each one them have stated that they were not beaten. We are probing the matter and as fresh facts come out, we will accordingly take action against whosoever is guilty
reportedly meted out to Sarfaraz Khan, a farmer whose first name is similar to that of Pakistan’s cricket captain Sarfraz Ahmed. “They had fun with me as for them, I was the captain. I was beaten up mercilessly by the police. In jail the inmates did the same,” he told Hindustan Times.
He and the other men alleged the inmates were particularly hostile to them as they faced sedition charges. Idbar Gulzar Tadvi, 24, says the incarceration is going to hurt him for a long time. The cotton crop he was growing has wilted while he was behind bars.
“Most of us work in the fields as farmers or labourers. We have the most to lose,” he said.
Even Mansoori forsees a bleak future. “I am a Bachelor in Education and I had applied for a job in the forest department. I was about to apply for a job with the police as well. Now, with such charges, who will give me a job,” he asked.
As the men stare at an uncertain future, they also speculate over the reasons why the police picked them up and branded them anti-nationals.
The police had used complainant Subhash Laxman Koli to book the men. But Koli has since retracted his statement in court and emerged as the hero of the village.
According to him, the police slapped him and forced him to sign some papers.
“It is only the next day I realised that I was made the complainant when I read my name in the local papers,” Koli said. “Police tried to intimidate me, but I told the truth in the court statement. If something happens to me, police will be responsible.”
Though forced to drop the more serious sedition charge, RRS Parihat, the superintendent of police for Burhanpur, denied any wrongdoing.
“Before the magistrate, each one them have stated that they were not beaten. We are investigating the matter and as fresh facts come out, we will accordingly take action against whosoever is guilty,” he told Hindustan Times.
As the findings are awaited, villagers including Sarfaraz’s father Rashid Khan, suspect a conspiracy to sow communal discord in the village.
“During the communal riots of 1992 and 2008 in Burhanpur, our village remained untouched. What changed this time needs to be investigated,” he said.