On Thursday, November 25, a member of the Hindu Raksha Dal was brutally attacked in Vijaynagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Deepak Kumar Tewatia, a resident of Pratap Vihar, was getting his scooty fixed at a shop near the Jeevan Jyoti hospital in the city when a group of Muslim youths led by one Faheem launched an attack on him in broad daylight.
The video of the alleged assault was widely shared on social media. Responding to one such video, the Ghaziabad police in a Tweet on November 26 informed that the police had taken cognisance of the case and a case under relevant sections of the IPC had been registered at the Vijayanagar police station. Thye said that the main accused had been arrested on the basis of the video and legal proceedings are underway.
उक्त प्रकरण के संबंध में थाना विजयनगर पर सुसंगत धाराओं में अभियोग पंजीकृत कर वैधानिक कार्यवाही करते हुए मुख्य अभियुक्त को गिरफ्तार किया गया है तथा वीडियो के आधार पर अन्य अभियुक्तगण की पहचान करते हुए वैधानिक कार्यवाही प्रचलित है ।
— GHAZIABAD POLICE (@ghaziabadpolice) November 26, 2021
According to a media report, the assault was motivated by a long-standing animosity between the main accused Faheem and victim Deepak Kumar. The report quoted a police officer as saying that according to one Yogendra Mallik, Faheem had gotten into a battle with some Hindu youth two to three years ago. Deepak Kumar had intervened and advocated on behalf of the Hindu youth at the time. This enraged Faheem, who ultimately avenged that insult on November 25.
As per the report, not only did the miscreants assault the Hindu Raksha Dal member but they also damaged his scooty and broke his phone.
Following the incident, Hindu Raksha Dal members gheraoed the Vijaynagar police station. They demonstrated for more than two hours, demanding that the criminals be apprehended. It was reported that the members of the organisation only stopped protesting when three persons were detained by the Vijaynagar police.
In a video statement, the Hindu Raksha Dal stated that the main accused- Faheem is an anti-Hindu and already has 7-8 similar cases registered against him. The organization’s Vijaynagar branch spokesperson further stated that Deepak Kumar Tewatia had previously spoken out against Faheem’s misdeeds, as a result of which the latter orchestrated this well-planned attack against Deepak. He thanked the authorities for their timely intervention as a result of which three accused have been arrested and sent to jail. He assured that the other assailants seen in the video have also been identified and efforts are on to nab them.
The video of the incident was obtained by OpIndia in which the Hindu Raksha Dal Mahanagar president Deepak Kumar Tewatia is seen being waylaid by a group of assailants who push him off his bike before launching the attack on him. They blow punches at him and kick him as he falls on the road. Deepak Kumar mourns in pain, while the assaulters continue to kick him.
The bystanders are seen recording the act but none come forward to save the Hindu Raksha Dal member.
OpIndia is also in possession of the copy of the FIR registered in the case, according to which the incident occurred at around 4 pm on Wednesday, November 25, when the victim went to a shop to get his scooty repaired. The assailants who have been named in the FIR are Faheem, Shahrukh, Saddam, Zeeshan, Arshad alias JP, Sahil and a few others who are yet to be unidentified. The FIR has been registered under IPC Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation), 307 (attempt to murder) and 427 (mischief causing damage).
The victim said in the FIR that the accused approached him while he was getting his scooter repaired at a mechanic shop. The accused began beating him and even before he could realise what was happening with him, they pinned him to the ground and were trying to strangulate him when the gathered crowd started shouting. His father Ranveer Singh and Pallav Chouhan reached the spot. Seeing the crowd swell, the accused fled. They told Deepak as they were leaving that if it hadn’t been for the public, they would have murdered him.
The Hindu Raksha Dal Mahanagar president was fighting causes like ‘love jihad’ which irked the Muslims in the area
On the condition of anonymity, one of the Hindu Raksha Dal’s members told OpIndia that the Hindu Raksha Dal has always been steadfast in its fight against issues like love jihad and likewise, Deepak Kumar Tewatia, being the organisation’s district President was also lawfully fighting against such issues in his locality. Many concerned Hindus used to visit Deepak and he would solicit the support of the police to help these victims get justice. Due to some similar incidents in the past, these Muslim youths were displeased and planned an attack on him.
The perpetrators had come prepared to kill Deepak Kumar, according to the source, but because the incident occurred in the middle of a crowded street and there were so many people present at the time of the assault, the assailants were compelled to leave him and run.
He said that the organisation was satisfied with how the Uttar Pradesh police handled the case and quickly nabbed three accused. He expressed confidence that the other accused would also be arrested soon.
