MUMBAI: A man was attacked with sharp weapons by a mob in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district accusing him of supporting suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma on social media, leaving him seriously injured
A senior police officer said that it was premature to say anything about the motive behind the attack as the investigation is at the preliminary stage.
The man, identified as Pratik alias Sunny Rajendra Pawar, was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital for injuries to his head and other parts of the body, a police official said.
Rajendra Pawar was attacked by at least 14 people on Thursday evening in front of a medical shop at Akkabai Chowk in Karjat town.
The incident occurred when Pawar and Amit Mane, the complainant in the case, were going to attend an event on his two-wheeler and waiting for a friend near the medical shop, the official said.
While they were waiting for a friend, some men approached them on two-wheelers. They were carrying a sword, sickle, and hockey sticks, as per the First Information Report (FIR).
One of them shouted at Pawar saying he had written a post on social media in support of Nupur Sharma and also put the status on Instagram after Kanhaiya Lal, and attacked him, Mane stated in his complaint filed on Friday.
Kanhaiya Lal was allegedly murdered by two men in June in Udaipur for sharing a social media post in support of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, whose comments on Prophet Mohammad had caused a huge row.
After Pawar was left injured, Mane called up his two friends and they rushed Pawar to a state-run hospital.
Mobile internet services off in Manipur amid protests
Mobile Internet services have been suspended for five days across Indian disturbed state Manipur. The order issued by Special Secretary (Home) H Gyan Prakash claimed that some anti-social elements were using social media to transmit hate speeches, inciting the passions of the public.
The decision was taken after a vehicle was set ablaze by some people, which led to communal tension at Phougakchao Ikhang on Saturday evening, the official order said.
The district magistrate of Bishnupur has also imposed prohibitory orders for a period of two months across the valley district, beginning Saturday evening.
Tension has been brewing in the state after All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) imposed an indefinite “economic blockade” along the highways passing through the hill districts on Friday morning, cutting off supplies to the valley region.
The students’ body had been demanding that the Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council (Amendment) Bill 2021 be tabled in the assembly.
The indefinite blockade prompted the valley-based organisation Meitei Leepun to lock the Imphal office of ATSUM.
The ATSUM was demanding the tabling of the Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the monsoon session of the assembly for greater financial and administrative autonomy of the hill region to ensure development at par with the valley areas of the state.
