Special squads have been established by the South Zone police in Hyderabad to track down and apprehend those responsible for moral policing an allegedly interfaith couple near Macca Masjid in the city. A man named Ali and his companions harassed a man outside the Hyderabad Charminar after noticing that his spouse was wearing a burqa. The video went viral on social media on 26th March. The couple was their their little child.
The perpetrators questioned the young man as to why he was with a woman from a different community which led to the harassment. Despite the wife’s pleas to the accused to leave them alone, they continued to assault the pair. As the victim’s wife attempted to step in, the culprits pushed her aside, grabbed their daughter away from him and began slapping and beating him.
The man was also spotted displaying identification documentation and claimed to be married. Despite the victim’s assertions that he is a Muslim, they didn’t believe him and insisted on seeing his Aadhar card to verify his religion. The infant also started crying amidst the commotion.
Drawing from the video evidence, police launched a suo motu case, designating four individuals as Child in Conflict with Law (CCL) suspects and identifying one suspect as Ali. They were taken into custody and placed in a home for juveniles. The police assured to punish anyone attempting to disturb the calm with severe consequences. Four specialized squads were established by the police to apprehend the remaining assault suspects.
It was reported that the incident happened a few days ago and an individual named B. Rahul from Mailardevpally lodged a complaint with the Charminar police based on the clip about the occurrence that transpired in Hyderabad’s Old City.
According to a news statement from the Hyderabad police, the teams were constituted by South Zone Deputy Commissioner of Police P Sai Chaitanya in order to prevent further local issues. The incident was reported to the Charminar police, who promptly opened a case. According to the authorities, the rest of the offenders are going to be captured soon.
A Case has been registered in @shocharminar PS (65/2024) and is under investigation.
— Hyderabad City Police (@hydcitypolice) March 27, 2024
The Indian Penal Code’s sections 323 (voluntarily causing pain), 504 (deliberate insult to provoke) and 295 (intent to insult religion) have been invoked by the police in conjunction with the Juvenile Justice Act which was cited because some of the accused in the video appeared to be juveniles.