SUMMARY
The Crime Branch also called Hindu Rashtra Sena chief Dhananjay Desai for questioning.
A young IT professional was killed, allegedly by members of a radical
Hindu outfit, as he was returning home Monday night, after derogatory
pictures of Shivaji and Bal Thackeray uploaded on Facebook triggered
communal tension across the city over the weekend, police said.
Police
identified the victim as Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh, a 24-year-old from
Solapur district, who worked as an IT manager with a private firm in
Pune. They said seven people, aged between 19 and 24 years, have been
arrested. They were associated with the Hindu Rashtra Sena, a radical
outfit active in the state, police said.
The
Crime Branch also called Hindu Rashtra Sena chief Dhananjay Desai for
questioning. He was later arrested in connection with an earlier case at
Pune Cantonment police station, relating to distribution of
objectionable pamphlets in March this year.
Shaikh
was reportedly assaulted near his rented home in Bankar Colony,
Hadapsar, as he was returning with a friend, Riyaz, after offering namaz
at a masjid, around 9 pm.
Riyaz
alleged that Moshin was targeted because he was wearing a skull cap and
had a beard. “I ran from the spot and called his brother Mobin for
help. However, by the time Mobin came, Mohsin was badly beaten up and
the assailants were about to leave,” he told The Indian Express.
A
police team reached the spot soon but the assailants fled from the
spot, leaving behind their motorcycles and wooden sticks. Police seized
three motorcycles that helped in identifying the assailants. The
arrests were made on Tuesday. Mohsin was admitted to a private hospital
where he was declared dead around 1 am.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IV) Manoj Patil said all seven accused are associated with the Hindu Rashtra Sena.
However,
before his arrest, Hindu Rashtra Sena chief Desai told The Indian
Express that his outfit was not involved in the murder. “We understand
that circulating derogatory pictures is a cyber crime but the problem
cannot be solved by killing innocent persons. We did condemn the
uploading of derogatory pictures, but we did not plan attacks on
innocent persons. We have branches across the state and there is no
incident of attack carried out by our activists till now,” Desai said.
The
derogatory photographs, uploaded on Facebook and circulated through
WhatsApp on Saturday, triggered communal tension in the city as
activists of Hindu outfits and political organisations indulged in
violence and arson. More than 200 public transport buses and private
vehicles were damaged in the past two days and incidents of arson,
stone-pelting and rioting were reported from many parts of the city.
To
control the situation, police called mohalla and peace committee
meetings. After one such meeting in Hadapsar locality on Monday evening,
a “rumour” of Muslims pelting a Shivaji statue with stones escalated
the tension.