On 3rd October 2023, several members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal gathered at the Manchar police station to file a case against the Muslim goons who attacked the house of a local Bajrang Dal activist Suraj Chakradhar Dharam on the night of 29th September 2023. This attack took place after a brief scuffle erupted between Muslims and Hindus during the Ganpati Visarjan procession in Manchar on September 28. The Muslim goons attacked Suraj’s house even after the scuffle was pacified and both sides had compromised a day before the attack.
Initially, the police administration was not ready to file an FIR against the culprits based on the complaint filed by the mother of the victim Hindu youth in this case. The members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal activists then joined together and visited the police station. After hours of pursuance, the police acknowledged that the attacking Muslim mob was at fault and realising the grave consequences, the goons themselves came ahead and furnished an unconditional apology to Suraj Dharam, his mother, and other family members. They also gave a written apology which said that they would not harm the Hindu youth in the future by any means whatsoever. The ordeal in the police station which started in the evening lasted till around 12 to 12:30 in the night.
Local members of Bajrang Dal and VHP took the lead in Manchar
Santosh Khamkar (Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad – Pune District), Ganesh Raut (Communications Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad – Pune District), Akshay Jagdale (Block Head of Bajrang Dal – Manchar), Chinmay Mahajan (Head of Bajrang Dal – Manchar City), senior Hindu activists Chetan Thorat and Mahesh Thorat along with hundreds of other Hindu youths accompanied Suraj Chakradhar Dharam to the Manchar police station on 3rd October evening to file a case against the attackers.
Suraj’s mother had mentioned several culprits in the complaint including 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, Javed Shaikh, 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, and Mohammad Fazal Shaikh.
Initially, the Manchar police were reluctant to file an FIR
The API Balwant Mandge posted in the police station Manchar initially did not file any case against the accused on 2nd October 2023. He apparently ignored the request of Suraj’s mother to file the case by citing that the scuffle on the Ganpati Visarjan occasion was pacified on the same day. When OpIndia inquired the police station about why the FIR was not registered, the police personnel in the office said that the officer would only explain the situation. When OpIndia contacted the officer, he could not give details of the action taken in this case, as he was busy in some meetings. In this case, the fact that the attack took a day after the said compromise was apparently disregarded. Therefore, the Hindu activists reached the police station with Suraj on 3rd October.
When the Hindu activists reached the police station, many Muslim leaders in the city were called upon leading to a large congregation of people at the police station. Listening to both parties, the police opined that they would take cases of both sides if they wanted to file the cases. In response to this, the Hindu activists explained to the officers that the two incidents were different and the later incident of the attack on the Hindu activist was deliberately done to incite violence and threaten the victim and his family – which amounts to a separate case altogether.
The attackers furnished a written unconditional apology and begged pardon with folded hands
DySP Sudarshan Patil of the Pune Rural Police was also present at the police station. He then asked all the people to wait aside and listened to the whole case from Suraj Chakradhar Dharam and one member from the Muslim side separately. By this time the people from the Muslim side also agreed that the attack on the second day came after pacifying the earlier incident.
Realising the legal consequences, the Muslim side offered unconditional apology to the victim Suraj Chakradhar Dharam, his mother, and other family members. The people involved in the attacking mob also visited the victim’s house along with the Hindu activists in the night and begged pardon with folded hands in front of Suraj’s mother. They also gave a written apology at the police station and assured that such an incident would not repeat and that they would not harm any activist again.
What Hindu activist in Manchar told OpIndia?
OpIndia talked to Ganesh Raut (Communications Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad – Pune District) in this regard. He said, “3 days ago, some anti-social elements from the local Muslim community orchestrated a cowardly attack on the house of our fellow Bajrang Dal activists Suraj Dharam and Santosh Dharam in the night when they were not at home. The attackers threatened his family members. Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal held a massive protest against this and visited the police station along with the victim demanding strict action against all the accused in this incident.”
Ganesh Raut further said, “Community leaders from both sides were then called to the police station. We brought it to the notice of the police officers that the incident of a scuffle in the Ganpati Visarjan was immediately resolved but this attack on the later day was a deliberate attempt to cause violence. The officers also acknowledged the fact. The culprits from the Muslim community who had a criminal mindset were strictly warned by the police authorities and realising the consequences of the case, they furnished an unconditional apology to the victim’s family.”
Ganesh Raut added, “This step of mutual understanding was taken at the end of a long confrontation in the police station in the presence of police officers who helped to pacify the situation. The accused people also assured that none of Suraj’s family members will be harmed and no unlawful activity or attack against the Hindu activist will be committed by them. Besides, they have also furnished a written apology for the incident that took place on the night of September 29.”
Ganesh Raut added, “Through this incident, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal assure that we will not leave any of our Hindu activist brothers and sisters alone in such a situation of crisis. For this purpose, we actively pursued this case and stayed at the police station until the situation reached a solution. We insisted on registering the case, but later the Muslim side apologised. Although we have taken a stand of mutual understanding this time, it is for maintaining social harmony considering the larger interests of the people in the town. We expect that all communities should take equal responsibility to maintain this peace and harmony. If any such incident repeats, we will answer it in a way the attacker better understands. We are thankful to OpIndia for the continued follow-up of the incident in order to raise this concern to a level where it could be heard. It is the kind of support we expect from all media on issues where we actually face such unnecessary problems.”
He said, “There was one other victim who was targeted by the Islamists in this incident. But considering his local businesses, he opted not to lodge the complaint. Our young activist Suraj Chakradhar Dharam lives in a Muslim-dominated area. He is our fellow activist who looks after his family through his courier delivery business. He visits various homes in the town for the sake of home delivery. His modest nature has earned cordial relations in local society. Along with this, he does various activities for upholding Dharma. He is a vocal activist who works for Gauraksha and raises his voice against social problems like love jihad.”
Ganesh Raut further informed, “Suraj is an important member of our local organisation. His mother and other family members were threatened by the goons. They lodged the complaint not out of any enmity but in fact to seek the safety of the family and Suraj himself. Suraj is a Hindu who comes from a scheduled caste family. Possibly attackers might have thought that no one would care for him. But that is not at all the case here. The whole Hindu Samaj of Manchar is with Suraj. We all went to the police station, expressed our concern, and eventually, the Muslim side apologised.”
What was the original issue?
On Friday, 29th of September, the house of one of the Bajrang Dal workers was attacked by a mob of Islamists in Manchar near Pune city of Maharashtra. The victim Hindu worker was identified as Suraj Chakradhar Dharam. The Islamists attacked the victim’s house and also abused the female members of the house. The crowd attacked Suraj’s house 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 was not investigated by the police. Suraj told OpIndia that he was the target of extremists because he has been vocal about 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 reported that during the incident, a Muslim mob threw stones at their house. They smashed the doors and abused the women in the house. A copy of this complaint is with OpIndia.
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 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. Now, the Islamist goons have apologised to Suraj, his mother, and the whole family after Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad intervened.
It must be noted that Manchar in the Pune district made it to the news in May 2023 for the shocking case of love jihad. On 20th May 2023, Maharashtra Police filed an FIR and arrested one Muslim person named Javed Sheikh (22) for abducting a minor Hindu girl, sexually assaulting her and then forcefully marrying her in the Manchar city of Pune, Maharashtra. The accused has been booked under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 4, 6, 8, 10 of the POCSO Act. The victim was 16-years-old when she was abducted and raped. A detailed report of this incident can be read here.
Pune Police issue a statement on Manchar issue, stay situation is peaceful, but some elements spreading rumours
In a statement, the Pune Rural police stated, “After the Ganapati Visarjan procession (September 28) was over, a minor altercation took place between a Muslim youth driver and the Ganapati Mandal workers who were passing by while the Mandal workers were leaving. After that, the workers of Ganapati Mandal and the workers of the Muslim community came to the police station and discussed among themselves. Both the boards agreed that this was a misunderstanding. They have settled the dispute by apologizing to each other. There is absolute peace in Manchar City.”
They added, “Someone on social media is spreading a rumor that stone pelting and verbal abuse has taken place in Manchar city on purpose. However, as there is complete peace in Manchar city, senior police officers of Pune Rural Police Force have held a meeting of the people of both communities and guided them. Guidance has been given to the concerned regarding maintaining law and order. Strict action will be taken against those who spread such wrong posts on social media.”
