The Indore Police have registered a case against 25-years-old bangle seller Tasleem Ali for inappropriately touching and harassing a 13-year-old girl.
A video had gone viral in which Ali was seen getting trashed by a group of men in the Govind Nagar area, after which Indore Police had filed a case against three main accused and others. So far, Police has arrested two of the main accused, Rakesh Pawar and Rajkumar Bhatnagar. The location of Vivek Vyas has already been traced by the Police.
Viral video of the bangle seller getting beaten up
The incident caught the limelight when a video was shared on social media platforms in which bangle seller Tasleem Ali was seen being beaten up by a group of people. In the video, a man was beating him and provoking others to do the same. The video attracted criticism from a section of netizens.
Imran Pratapgarhi, National Chairman of, Congress Minority Department, said, “This video is not from Afghanistan but from Indore today. A Muslim bangle seller is being looted and trashed in the land of dreams of CM Shivraj Chouhan. Narendra Modi, sir, did you want this India? When will action be taken against these terrorists?”
ये वीडियो अफगानिस्तान का नहीं बल्कि आज इंदौर का है, @ChouhanShivraj जी के सपनों के मध्यप्रदेश में एक चूड़ी बेंचने वाले मुसलमान का सामान लूट कर सरेआम भीड़ से लिंचिंग करवाई जाती है ।@narendramodi जी क्या यही भारत बनाना चाहते थे आप ?
— Imran Pratapgarhi (@ShayarImran) August 22, 2021
इन आतंकियों पर कार्यवाही कब ? pic.twitter.com/fsA5fLqNaD
His tweet was widely shared and attracted criticism before the actual story came out.
मुख्यमंत्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान @ChouhanShivraj साहब आखिर कब तक नफरत फैलाने वालों को खुली छूट मिलती रहेगी ।
— Wasiuddin Siddiqui (@WasiuddinSiddi1) August 22, 2021
(Bhagwan Jesus Allah God ) kise say to daro .. 👏🏻
— SAYYED IQBAL ABDULLAH (SIA) (@iqqiabdullah) August 23, 2021
As per the Police, a group of people from the other community protested outside the Police station as well while the Police were in the process of filing an FIR against those who beat up Ali. Based on Ali’s complaint, an FIR was registered by Indore Police under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 141 (unlawful gathering), 147 (rioting), 395 (dacoity), 120- B (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant provisions against unidentified persons.
In a video statement, the Police said that the crowd that gathered outside the Police station did not listen to the Police while the FIR was being filed against those who trashed Ali. A case against those who gathered the crowd has also been filed for provocation. All Police stations are on alert. The Police further asked the public not to get provoked by anyone as they would be held responsible for their actions and advised everyone not to forward any message on social media platforms without verifying them.
MP: Mob beats bangle seller in Indore; Police say he gave fake identity
— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) August 23, 2021
Read: https://t.co/xtwRUE3vKV pic.twitter.com/6jSHBDbEqz
The case against Tasleem Ali
Narottam Mishra, Home Minister, Madhya Pradesh, issued a statement in which he said, “As per the report of the Home Department, the man was selling bangles using a Hindu name while he was from some other religion. There were two Aadhaar cards on him, allegedly fake. There is a ritual of women wearing new bangles during Saawan month. The issue between two sides started from there.”
इंदौर: चूड़ी वाले की पिटाई पर MP के गृह मंत्री नरोत्तम मिश्रा का बयान
— News24 (@news24tvchannel) August 23, 2021
“हिन्दू नाम रखकर चूड़ियां बेचता था युवक, उसके पास से 2 फ़र्ज़ी आधारकार्ड मिले हैं”#Indore #MadhyaPradesh @drnarottammisra pic.twitter.com/ihCjHXfm9X
In the complaint filed against Ali, a minor girl has complained that he came to their house around 2 PM on Sunday, when her father was away. She further said that Ali concealed his identity to sell bangles to her and identified himself as Golu, showing a “half-burnt” Aadhaar card. She said, “He came to our house around 2 PM on Sunday when my father was away. He identified himself as Golu and showed a half-burnt Aadhaar Card. We began purchasing bangles from him. As my mother went to fetch money, the bangle-seller looked at me in an indecent way and grabbed my hand, saying, ‘I’ll help you wear bangles’. He also inappropriately touched my cheeks.”
On the complaint of a girl, a case has been filed against the bangle seller for allegedly sexually harassing her & forging the documents, under relevant sections of POCSO & sections 354, 354 (a), 420, 467, 468, & 471 of IPC. He has been rounded up: Indore SP Ashutosh Bagri (2/2) pic.twitter.com/KN6xsk1Sho
— ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2021
The victim further added in her complaint that she screamed when he touched her. The mother of the victim got alarmed and ran to her rescue, after which Ali allegedly threatened the girl and ran away. The neighbours and local residents grabbed him. Based on the victim’s complaint, Indore Police registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 471 (using fake documents as real ones), among others.
The case of fake identity cards
According to the Police, Ali was found in possession of fake documents. He was carrying two Aadhar cards. One had the name “Asleem, son of Mor Singh”, and the second one had “Tasleem, son of Mohar Ali”. Ashutosh Bagri, Superintendent of Police, said, “Cops have found two Aadhaar cards of different names from the carry bag of Ali besides a burnt voter identity card in which his name was not clear. But in the column of father’s name, ‘Mohan Singh’ is printed on it.” The Police also found a voter ID card in his possession in a different name.
Tasleem claims all identity cards are real
Aminul Khan Suri, Congress Spokesperson, Madhya Pradesh, shared a video of Ali. He said, “Years back, an identity card was made in my village with my pet name “Bhura” while in the Aadhaar card, my name is written as Tasleem Ali. None of these identity documents is fake, and they both are real.” Interestingly, Ali did not give any explanation for why he had two Aadhar cards with different names in his possession.
इंदौर में मॉबलिंचिंग के शिकार तस्नीम ने गृहमंत्री की दो आधार कार्ड की कहानी को झूठा करार दिया l@AZADATIQ@delayedjab @Anurag_Dwary @Naveen_K_Singh_ pic.twitter.com/ZELb3cYqSN
— Dr Aminul khan Suri (@SuriAminul) August 23, 2021
Ali has filed a complaint against five-six people for trashing him. He also alleged that the mob used abusive language against him and snatched Rs.10,000 in cash, mobile phone, identity cards and other documents. He has also alleged that the mob took away bangles worth Rs.25,000 from his possession.
