On Friday, 29th of September, the house of one of the Bajrang Dal workers was attacked by a mob of Islamists in Pune city of Maharashtra. The victim Hindu worker has been identified as Suraj Chakradhar. The Islamists attacked the victim’s house and also abused the female members of the house. The crowd is said to have attacked Suraj for allegedly stopping Maulana’s car during Ganpati Visarjan.
Suraj, on the other hand, had videotaped the incident in which everyone gave way to the vehicle that belonged to the Maulana. Suraj’s complaint is yet to be investigated by the police. Suraj told OpIndia that he was the target of extremists because he has been vocal for cow protection and against love jihad.
This case comes from the Manchar police station region of Pune’s Ambegaon region. Suraj’s mother filed a police report on Monday, 2nd October, 2023. According to the complaint, a gathering of 150 to 200 Muslims gathered at his residence on 29th September.
The enraged crowd had arrived at Suraj Chakradhar’s residence but Suraj, by chance, was not at home. As they couldn’t find Suraj, the mob started messing with the women present in his house. Suraj’s mother reports that during the incident, a Muslim mob threw stones at their house. They smashed the doors and abused the women in the house.
Additionally, the mob inquired as to whether Suraj was associated with Bajrang Dal. “Wherever he is found,” Suraj’s mother was told, “his hands and legs will be broken.” This video has also gone viral on social media.
#HindusUnderAttack
— Subhi Vishwakarma (@subhi_karma) October 3, 2023
Mob including hundreds of Islamists led by PFI members launched an attack on the residence of Hindu activist Suraj Dharam in Manchar, Pune, Maharashtra.
Attackers have been identified as Riyaz Jamadar, Israr Pathan, Azam Momin, Qayyum Pathan among others. pic.twitter.com/Qn81NPovTS
Suraj’s mother has also named a few people from the crowd. The accused whose names have been mentioned in the complaint copy are – Riyaz Jamadar, Israr Shahbaz Khan Pathan, Azam Momin, Qayyum Pathan, Meeran Anees Inamdar, Aaqib Rehman Attar, Aman Rehman Attar, Mohammad Sartaj Ali Jamadar, Tarbez Mukhtar Qureshi, Danish Siraj Momin, Tauqeer Mohammad Matin Jamadar, Adnan Mohammad, and Javed Shaikh.
The complaint additionally mentions Mohammad Sabir Rizwan Ali Syed, Irfan Tahjan Mandal, Azhar Siraj Momin, Atiq Wasim Inamdar, Uzef Wasim Inamdar, Asif Khan, Zia Ahmed Imtiaz Jamadar, Rehan Rizwan Inamdar, Shahbaz Ali Inamdar, Saqlain Sarfaraz Inamdar, Mohammad Fazal Shaikh.
Suraj’s mother stated in the complaint that a Ganpati immersion procession was taking place outside their house at around 11:50 PM the day before the incident, on September 28. Eventually, several people tried to crush the crowd by ramming a four-wheeler through the middle of the procession.
The Hindu procession participants, on the other hand, gave way to the Muslim vehicle without a struggle or disagreement. Regardless, after a while, members of the Muslim community assembled at the police station to file a complaint against those involved in the Ganesh Visarjan Yatra. OpIndia has a video in which Hindu organisations freely give way to the vehicle of the Muslim community.
Suraj’s mother has requested police protection, claiming that her entire family faces a threat. In addition, after reviewing the CCTV and video of the incident, she expressed hope that harsh action would be taken against all of the perpetrators.
Suraj, the Bajrang Dal worker, was approached by OpIndia seeking information on this case. Suraj stated that his home is in a Muslim-dominated area. He stated that he has long been a target of Islamists due to his views on matters such as love jihad and cow slaughter.
Suraj told us that he had gone to get medicines for his ill mother during the attack. He says that if he had been discovered at home, a crowd of Muslims would have undoubtedly attacked him because the attackers were shouting slogans about his murder. According to Suraj, many outsiders were also included in the crowd that came to his house.
