In yet another case of mob violence in Bareilly of Uttar Pradesh four daily wage labourers were mercilessly thrashed by unidentified assailants allegedly after they were seen eating meat near a makeshift temple. The matter came to light earlier this week when a video of the assault began circulating on social media. A preliminary investigation has led police officials to suggest that the attack could have been due to two of the four labourers hail from minority communities. The victims of this attack had arrived at Baheri at the behest of a mason who had hired them to work as labourers.
However, the men attacked allegedly for eating beef near a place of worship claim that they were consuming a vegetarian meal when a group of unidentified young men arrived at the spot and began assaulting them. In a video of the incident, the assailants can be seen thrashing the labourers.
https://twitter.com/Benarasiyaa/status/1134477744438300672
Station house officer (SHO) of Baheri station, Dhananjay Singh told news agency ANI that the four men had been hired to aid with the construction of a private home. They had gone to a nearby ‘devasthan’ to eat their food. A ‘devasthan’ is a miniature shrine with idols of god, usually near or under shady trees.
Four people were beaten up allegedly for eating meat inside a temple in Bareilly on 29th May. SP Rural says, "A case has been registered, all accused will be arrested shortly. Locals who thrashed them said they were eating inside a religious place." pic.twitter.com/ookOvyrq6m
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 1, 2019
A first information report (FIR) in this regard has been registered against Adesh Valmiki and Manish along with four other unidentified men, said Bareilly senior superintendent of police (SSP) Muniraj G, adding that two teams have been formed to locate and arrest the rest of the accused who are currently at large. More details in this regard are awaited.
‘Weapons training’ at BJP MLA’s school at Mira Road in Maharashtra
The Thane Rural police have started an inquiry into a training camp organised by the Bajrang Dal at a Mira Road school, in which students were allegedly given weapons training.
The probe was initiated after an NGO, Democratic Youth Federation of India, brought the matter to the notice of the police.
The NGO approached the Navghar police on Wednesday after spotting pictures of the camp at Seven Eleven Academy, which is owned by BJP MLA Narendra Mehta, on Facebook. A user named Prakash Gupta shared the pictures, stating that it is being held from May 25 to June 1. The pictures showed boys loading and handling several rifles on the premises.
“Some of the children seemed to be minors and it is dangerous for them to handle firearms. The Bajrang Dal is a hard line Hindu organisation and has been blamed for repeated instances of violence across the country,” said advocate Sanjay Pande, secretary of the organisation.
Mr. Pande said he, along with other members of his organisation, sought police action against the school and the Bajrang Dal. “The police refused to entertain our request and we left after submitting an application. On Friday, we met Sub Divisional Police Officer Atul Kulkarni and discussed the matter with him. He assured us that necessary action would be taken,” he said.
Mr. Kulkarni said inquiries had been initiated into the matter. “We contacted the organisers of the training camp and they claimed that they had requisite licences and permissions for the guns. We have asked them to produce the documents for examination. If any discrepancies are found, action will be taken accordingly,” Mr. Kulkarni said, adding no FIR had been filed as yet.
Train hawker arrested for mimicking politicians, including PM Modi, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has arrested a railway hawker after a video of him mocking and mimicking political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi gone viral on social media.
The hawker, who sells toys in trains, was arrested by RPF at Surat Railway Station. The hawker has been identified as Avdhesh Dubey.
According to a report in Indian Express, the hawker has been charged under many sections of Railway Act, including section 44 (prohibition on hawking and begging), 145 B (spreading nuisance or using abusive language in railway carriage), 147 (unlawful entry into train).
In the viral video, Dubey could be seen mimicking PM Modi, Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi her Rahul Gandhi, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, as he sell toys to passengers in the train.
According to RPF officials, Dubey migrated to Valsad from Varanasi two years ago. He has been selling toys and other items to passengers in trains travelling between Vapi and Surat.
“We have charged Avdhesh Dubey for unauthorised vending. The video clip of Avdhesh Dubey has become very popular on social media and we also received his video. In the video clip he was seen making remarks on the political leaders,” the report quoted Railway Protection Force Inspector (Surat) Ishwar Singh Yadav as saying.
On Friday afternoon, Dubey was produced before a Railway Court and was sent to judicial custody for 10 days.
Odisha journalist allegedly attacked by sand mining mafia in Balasore
A journalist of an Odia daily in coastal Balasore district was grievously injured after illegal sand miners allegedly attacked him on Wednesday night while he was returning home from office.
Pratap Patra, a reporter of leading Odia daily Samaj, was attacked on his head, chest and hands with sharp weapons at Gunapur Chhak on Baliapal-Kamarda road of Balasore, 230 km north of Bhubaneswar at around 9 pm. Baliapal police station inspector in-charge Prabhu Kalyan Acharya said the journalist survived as he was wearing a helmet.
Patra was first rushed to Community Health Centre at Baliapal by some locals and then shifted to the district headquarters hospital in Balasore. His condition was stated to be stable.
“The bike-borne miscreants chased him and rained blows on his head and body with sharp weapons. His helmet broke after taking the initial blows. He suffered gashes on his head, chest and hand. The miscreants also snatched away his mobile phone and gold necklace before fleeing from the spot,” said Acharya
The inspector said no FIR has been lodged so far, but the police have taken up the matter and started an investigation.
Patra told the police that he had reported about the sand mafia in Balasore a few days ago which angered some people. Police said the journalist received threats over last few days. The journalist later told the local press that he knew the attackers and handed over a list of names to the police.
The National Green Tribal in January had passed an order asking the Balasore district administration to stop illegal sand mining near the Subarnarekha river. Due to heavy demand of sand in different parts of Odisha for developmental and welfare projects and demand of quality sand in neighboring states, the mafia reportedly scooped away tonnes of sand causing severe damage to embankments and roads.
