On Saturday (April 8, 2023) in the Metra district of Chhattisgarh, 11 attackers including Abdul, Akbar, and Ismail killed a youth named Bhuneshwar Sahu. The brawl started with a bicycle collision between two school students in Biranpur village under the Saja constituency. Swords and glass bottles were used in the attack.
Now the family members of the Sahu family have disclosed the whole incident. They have alleged that the attackers had the cooperation of the police and women were also targeted in the attack.
The interview of Bhuneshwar’s father and brother has been published on the YouTube channel of Bhilai Times. Pointing towards a scrap shop, Bhuneshwar’s father told that in their free time, 5-6 boys sit there and gossip. He asserted that people who gathered at the scrap shop used to incite Hindu-Muslim strife by encouraging others to pick quarrels. A child was thrashed near the same shop on the day of the incident. It is alleged that when the mother of the victim went to the scrap shop to stop the thrashing of the boy, she was also beaten up.
The father of the deceased Bhuneshwar further said that on the day of the incident, some people from the Hindu community had returned after ‘Jyoti Visarjan’. They expressed displeasure over the thrashing of the woman by the people gathered at the scrap shop and organised a meeting. A meeting of the Hindu society was held to protest against the incident. The deceased Bhuneshwar used to drive a tractor and had attended the meeting of the Hindu community. Bhuneshwar’s father alleges that in this meeting the Muslim locals in the region started pelting stones. He claimed that the police were working hand in glove with the Muslim extremists.
Bhuneshwar’s father also added that during the stone pelting from both sides, the attackers dragged Bhuneshwar away. As per reports, the police team had also been targeted by the mob who attacked the Hindus. In the meeting of Hindus, nobody was armed, and most of them were engaged in rescue efforts. His father got information about Bhuneshwar’s death over the phone. He claims that when he went to collect the dead body, the people of the Hindu society stopped him from going for the fear of facing a similar fate as Bhuneshwar. In the end, the victim’s father and his wife themselves brought their child home in an unconscious state.
Bhuneshwar’s father alleged that there was a delay of one and a half hours in the arrival of the ambulance. At the same time, he said, “The policemen were on their side only.” Bhuneshwar’s brother Krishna Sahu also reported sustaining injured from the mob attack. He said, “Hindu society was abused. Where were the police when the hands of the children were chopped off.” Describing the police as a supporter of the Muslim extremists, Bhuneshwar’s brother said, “It was the police who supported them.” “Kill them”, the policemen were heard as saying, claimed Bhuneshwar’s brother.
एक-एक हिंदू तेली को काटेंगे(भुनेश्वर साहू के पिता को धमकी)
— Arun Sao (@ArunSao3) April 10, 2023
कौन काटेगा हिन्दुओं को?
कौन काटेगा तेलियों को?
किसके संरक्षण मे हिंदुओं के, साहू समाज के नरसंहार की साजिश हो रही है?
किसमे हिम्मत है आए अरुण साव खड़ा है हर हिंदू, हर साहू तेली के साथ।
भाजपा खड़ी है हर हिंदू-तेली के साथ। pic.twitter.com/CxW8fCiJH3
During the cremation of the deceased, his father told, “The murder appeared to be preplanned. Comments like ‘Teli ko marna hai’ were also being made.” While referring to a mosque, the brother of the deceased said that the attackers had already collected bricks and stones. The victims also said that the mob surrounded them and beat them with sticks, stabbed them with knives and subsequently took them away.
घेर कर सर पर डंडा मारा, फिर चाकुओं से गोदा और मारते-मारते ले गए…
— BJP Chhattisgarh (@BJP4CGState) April 11, 2023
सुनिये पीड़ित की आप बीती…#छत्तीसगढ़_बनता_जिहादगढ़ #Bemetara pic.twitter.com/jRIGRbg2nj
One report quoted BJP MP Vijay Baghel as saying that Bhuneshwar was killed and thrown next to the mosque. The BJP MP has also alleged that the number of attackers is high and the police deployment is not commensurate with the size of the mob.
बहुत निर्मम हत्या हुई है, इससे पूरा समाज दहल गया है। हमारे छत्तीसगढ़ में कानून व्यवस्था पूरी तरह छिन्न-भिन्न हो गई है। क्या ऐसे कृत्य करने वालों को शासन-प्रशासन प्रश्रय दे रहा है? ये सवाल उमड़ रहे हैं…
— BJP Chhattisgarh (@BJP4CGState) April 9, 2023
श्री @vijaybaghelcg जी
सांसद, दुर्ग लोकसभा#छत्तीसगढ़_बनता_अपराधगढ़ pic.twitter.com/UbBZjUt0kM
MP Baghel further said, “The murderers are the Muslim extremists who are hiding in their homes. If there is a house-to-house search, for which we have asked the police, the weapons used in the killing will be found there. Illegal weapons will be found. They are involved in illegal businesses. Stolen goods will be found. It is scary to go to those places. Who are these people, where did they come from and why did they come, it should be investigated. If immediate action is not taken on this, there will be protests.”
