A Muslim mob attacked several Hindus in Tirpadi village in the Nakud police station area of the Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh on Monday (8th December). The incident took place during a Panchayat gathering, which was called for settling a dispute regarding a derogatory social media post about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. An FIR was filed against five identified and about 5 unidentified individuals, while three accused have been arrested by the police.
As per reports, the dispute began after a Muslim posted offensive remarks on social media about the Hindu Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. After seeing the post, a local Hindu man got into a heated argument with the Muslim man. When the matter further escalated, a Panchayat was called to resolve the dispute peacefully.
However, several people from the Muslim side came to the Panchayat armed with sticks, sharp weapons and guns. They attacked the Hindu side in the middle of the Panchayat, leaving several injured. Two men named Satish Kumar and Narendra reportedly sustained serious injuries in the firing by Muslims. Both were admitted to the Community Health Centre from where they were referred to the District Hospital. Satish Kumar told the media that the Muslim opened fire at him with the intention of killing him. He said that the attacker aimed his gun at his chest, but he pushed the gun away with his hand and thus sustained injuries on his hand.
Speaking about the incident, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Sagar Jain confirmed the incident. He said that three teams of police have been constituted to arrest the remaining accused and conduct investigation in the case.
Orish, Anees, and Rahis arrested
CO Nakur Ruchi Gupta said on Tuesday (9th December) that the police have taken action based on a complaint filed by Mohkam, son of Pahalsingh. A case has been registered against Orish, son of Anees; Anees, son of Zinda; Zeeshan, son of Akram; Rahis, son of Zinda; Akram, son of Zinda; and a few unknown individuals. The police have arrested Orish, Anees, and Rahis. Illegal weapons used in the incident have also been recovered from their possession. Efforts are underway to apprehend the other accused.
Amid high communal tensions in the village, police personnel have been deployed to maintain peace. MLA Mukesh Chaudhary, BJP leader and former MLA Mahipal Singh Majra, and members of a Hindu organisation visited Tirpadi village on Tuesday and met the families of the victims. They assured them that appropriate legal action would be taken against the culprits.