Two Muslim teenagers were allegedly brutally assaulted by Mumbai police and told to go ‘back to Pakistan’.
Although Mumbai police ordered a probe into the allegations, the officers insist the young men were taken to the police station after creating a ruckus and assaulting a policeman.
Asif and Danish Shaikh, both 19, were allegedly assaulted in the wee hours of Saturday morning, leaving the former hospitalised and the latter injured.
Asif is undergoing treatment at Bandra’s Bhabha Hospital where he is in stable condition but suffered a minor fracture. “He is stable. He has bruises on his back. He also sustained a fracture,” said the hospital’s superintendent, Dr P Jadhav.
Further, recalling the incident Asif said,”They had handcuffed me. I was stripped and beaten by eight police officers. At one point they threatened to use oil as a tool to torture…I cried and begged them to stop. I even questioned about the reasons to beat me up. That agitated them further.”
“The room doesn’t have a CCTV camera. Asif was hit with bamboo sticks and belts on his back, shoulders and legs. He was told to remove his clothes and beaten. He was also handcuffed to a table,” said advocate Rahul Dangle, who has known both boys for more than a decade.
However, Satya Narayan Choudhary, Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone IX said the boys were booked for a scuffle and charged with assaulting a policemen.
“There was a fight between two groups at Galaxy Apartments. We arrested them and charged them under Section 353 of the IPC. All the other allegations are the subject of an inquiry,” he said.
Of the incident, Asif’s uncle, Mohammad Hassan, said, “We tried to get him admitted at Bhabha hospital in Bandra on Saturday morning. The doctors kept him on a stretcher but refused to admit him. There was immense police pressure. Until now, no FIR has been lodged. No officer has come to record his complaint.”
“DCP Zone IX has started his inquiry. He should be given some time to speak to both sides. We are recording statements of the so-called victims and also of the police officers. If there are allegations, they should come forward with some proof,” Joint Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti said.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil said the chief minister will speak on the matter after a proper briefing on the issue on Monday.
Commenting on the incident, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said, “I absolutely refute the allegation that they were told to go to Pakistan. It is also incorrect to blow up a single stray incident. Two other Muslims are witnesses in the case. There is no question of the police having asked the boys to go to Pakistan.”
