Mob thrashes man, brands him 'cattle thief'

In another case of mob violence in the Capital, a man was beaten up by a group of people who allegedly branded him as a 'cattle thief' in south east Delhi's Sarai Kale Khan last Friday.

Iftikhar Alam, who works as a driver in a private company, said that a mob comprising at least 25 people beat him with sticks and later bound his limbs and assaulted him, before the police finally arrived.

Alam claimed that after they got to know of his religious identity, the mob continued the assault and allegedly called him as a 'Pakistani'.

According to his complaint, members of the mob later made a PCR call and informed the police that they had caught a cattle thief with three buffaloes in his vehicle.

The callers also told police that they had released the buffaloes.

Alam also alleged that police had initially not registered his complaint, claiming he was medical unwell and not in a condition to give his statement.

They eventually did take Alam's statement on Sunday and an FIR was registered under section 323, 341, 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

The incident took place in the late hours of July 7, when Alam, who was driving a Bolero Jeep, reached Sarai Kale Khan bus stand.

His way was blocked by a few cars parked in front of him and decided to get down from the car and to get the cars moved.

"I honked several times, but the cars didn't move. I got down and walked a few steps. Immediately, a group of men, led by one of my colleagues Sandeep, started assaulting me," Alam told Millennium Post.

He claimed that the men kept assaulting him and later took him to a slum cluster nearby, where the mob burgeoned in numbers.

"There were at least 25 men with sticks who kept beating me. They asked me my name and after I told them, they called me a Muslim and a Pakistani. They bound my legs and arms with ropes and continued to beat me till police arrived," Alam said.

After he refused medical examination in a local hospital, Alam was taken to Jeevan Hospital, police claimed. He sustained injuries to his arms and legs.

However, police have refused to comment on the alleged communal slurs.

"It was a quarrel over removing of parked vehicles. The victim told us that he knew the attackers and after the fight, some people who were in support of him had resolved the matter. But on the complaint of Ehsan Alam, his brother, a case was registered," said DCP South East, Romil Baaniya.

So far, no arrests have been made. The victim's family has claimed they will protest outside the police headquarters on Monday if no action is taken.

In a similar incident on Saturday, a mob had beaten up truck drivers and animal transporters in seven other vehicles in Baba Haridas Nagar.

The victims were transporting buffalo calves for sale in Ghazipur. So far no detentions or arrests have been made in the case.