The police, on Thursday, arrested three men for allegedly assaulting a 22-year-old Muslim man, keeping him hostage and chopping off his beard in Khandsa earlier this week. The accused also allegedly called the complainant “Pakistani”, the police said. A video of the incident was also circulated on the social media.
The accused were identified as Gaurav alias Tedha, Nitin Kumar and Ikhlash, a barber. They were produced before the court and sent to judicial custody, the police said.
The police said that Gaurav and Nitin are friends and are history sheeters. They have been booked earlier also for disturbing public peace and fighting with people, the police said.
The complainant, Jafruddin, who runs a small dhaba in Sector 29 near IFFCO Chowk, also suffered minor injuries during the incident. He said he was forced to cut his beard and called a Pakistani on Tuesday when he had gone to buy vegetables from near Khandsa Mandi. He was accompanied by his cook, Ibrahim.
Jafruddin lodged a complaint with the police late Wednesday night following which a case was registered at Sector 37 police station under sections 295A (hurting religious sentiment), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 34 (common intention)and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code on Thursday.
On July 31 at around 6pm, Jafruddin and Ibrahim had gone to the Khandsa Mandi to purchase vegetables for dinner. The two, who hail from Badali village in Nuh district, around 81 kilometers from Gururgam, visited the market thrice every day, but this was the first time they were targeted, Ibrahim said.
“I wanted to get my hair cut. So, we went to a roadside salon near the mandi. Two people were already inside the shop and were getting their beards and hair cut. One of the miscreants, after getting his shave asked me to cut my beard. When I refused saying that it was a religious practice, they started abusing me. They held both my hands and forced the barber to shave off my beard. Though the barber initially refused, they threatened him and assaulted me multiple times,” Jafruddin said.
The victim said they tried to escape, but Gaurav and Nitin held them hostage. “The barber and I got scared after one of the miscreants took out the knife and said that he will shave off my beard himself. The barber requested him to put the knife away and said he would comply,” the victim said.
“I was frightened after the incident as they threatened to kill me if I was seen in the area again. I got upset and left for my village. On Wednesday, I narrated my ordeal to my family members and they discussed the matter with the village panchayat after which we called the Gurugram police and reported the matter,” Jafrudden said.
Sumit Kuhar, deputy commissioner police(DCP) crime said, “The incident took place on Tuesday evening and we received a complaint a day after. We also received a video of the incident. We formed teams and identified the miscreants within two hours. The team of Sector 37 police arrested the accused from Khandsa,” Kuhar said.
