Mob thrashes bangle seller in MP, 14 booked

INDORE: At least two people were arrested on Monday for thrashing a 25-year-old Muslim bangle seller in Banganga area of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, police said

The incident, a video of which went viral on social media, took place on Sunday when the complainant, Taslim Ali, was selling bangles in Govind Nagar area, they added. According to Ali, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, he was accosted by a group of unidentified men who started thrashing him after finding out that he was a Muslim. He added that a first information report (FIR) was registered late on Sunday only after Muslims staged a protest outside the police station.

As many as 14 people were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, police said. State home minister Narottam Mishra, meanwhile, claimed that the victim was using a fake identity.

THE MINISTER SAID THE MAN SOLD BANGLES TO WOMEN BY POSING AS A HINDU EVEN AS HE BELONGED TO ANOTHER COMMUNITY

INDORE/BHOPAL: A 25-year-old man selling bangles on streets was beaten up by a mob after allegedly asking his name in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city.

When asked about the incident, state home minister Narottam Mishra told reporters in Bhopal on Monday that the row erupted after the man sold bangles to women by posing as a Hindu even as he belonged to another community.

A video of the incident, that took place on Sunday in Govind Nagar area of Indore, went viral on social media. The Indore police have registered a case on

charges of promoting enmity between different groups and other offences, an official said.

In one of the viral clips, some people were purportedly seen thrashing the vendor, identified as Tasleem Ali, while he was asking for mercy. In another video, a person beating up the vendor was seen accusing him of eveteasing. The person was also seen abusing the vendor and inciting others to hit him. He was also seen warning the man not to be seen in the area henceforth. When asked about the incident, minister Narottam Mishra as per the home department’s report, the person had identified himself with a Hindu name while be belonged to another community, leading to the dispute. “In this connection, two Aadhaar cards were seized from him,” he said, adding that police took action against both the sides. The man, hailing from Hardoi district in Uttar Pradesh, filed a police complaint on Sunday night, alleging that five-six persons from the mob asked his name in the Govind Nagar area and when he told them his name, they started beating him. He also alleged that those part of the mob also used objectionable words against him and snatched ₹10,000 from him, his mobile phone, Aadhaar card, other documents, and bangles worth around ₹25,000.

The police official said based on the man’s complaint, an FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 141 (unlawful gathering), 147 (rioting), 395 (dacoity), 120- B (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant provisions. Efforts were on to nab those involved in thrashing him, he said. The official also said that late Sunday night, a large number of people along with the bangle seller reached the Central Kotwali police station where they allegedly indulged in inappropriate sloganeering .