A 24-year-old man was attacked with sharp weapons by a mob in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district on Saturday for allegedly backing controversial comments by now-suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma on Prophet Mohammed, according to an FIR registered over the incident. The police, however, said they were probing whether it was a case of old enmity.
So far, four people have been arrested in connection with the case, said an official.
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According to the police, the attack took place on Thursday evening when Sunny Rajendra Pawar and his friend Amit Mane were waiting for a friend in front of a medical shop at Akkabai Chowk in Karjat town, 22km away from the Ahmednagar district headquarters. A group of 14 to 15 people attacked them with a sword, sickle and sticks for allegedly supporting Sharma’s controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammed, said the complaint lodged by Mane.
“They were carrying a sword, sickle, and hockey sticks. One of them called Pawar and reproached him over a social media post over Nupur Sharma. After being attacked with sharp weapons over his head, Pawar dropped unconscious after which the accused thought he was dead and left the spot,” the FIR said.
Pawar has sustained injuries to the head and other parts of the body and is currently undergoing treatment, said an official.
Superintendent of police (Ahmednagar) Manoj Patil said of the 14 people named in the complaint, four have been arrested so far, while a search operation is on to apprehend the rest.
“We have arrested four persons regarding the attack. We are verifying details about social media posts, as mentioned in the FIR based on complaint,” he added.
The accused have been booked under sections 307 (Attempt to murder),143 (Being a member of an unlawful assembly), rioting, 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Patil also said that Pawar has several criminal cases lodged against him and was recently externed out of the town limits by the local police.
Local police officials attributed the incident to a previous enmity between the victim and the suspect. “There was a fight between the victim and accused recently and criminal complaints had been lodged in connection with the incidents. Preliminary investigation reveals that the attack was due to a previous fight. The allegations related to social media posts of the victim are being verified and a detailed probe is being done,” said inspector Chandrashekhar Yadav.