Bhondsi attack: Family demands a CBI probe

A day after a cross-FIR was registered against two members of the Muslim family who were attacked by a mob in Dhumaspur village of Bhondsi on March 21, the family alleged that this was a pressure tactic to intimidate them. They demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident.

The family said that they have started packing their belongings and are considering moving from the village as they feel unsafe and threatened.

Mohammad Sajid, who was seen being beaten up in a video that went viral, was discharged from Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital in Delhi on Wednesday. Laying on his bed with a cast on his right arm and bandage on the left knee, he said that he was not aware of the cross-FIR and got to know of it through the media on Friday morning.

“We are being targeted. The case should be investigated by the CBI. We are exploring legal options and will not stop until we get justice. This is a pressure tactic. It has been eight days since we were attacked. No government official has paid a visit or called me to give an assurance that we would be safe. I am scared. We cannot go to work. My children fear to go to school. When no one is with us, why should we stay here?” asked Sajid.

Sajid added that though the police had given them an assurance, they are looking for potential spaces in Delhi to shift. Some members of the family met the police commissioner, Muhammad Akil, in the evening. “I told the family that we will conduct a fair probe and justice shall prevail. We will look into their grievances. If they want a CBI probe, they are free to approach the competent authorities,” Akil said.

On Thursday, the police had registered a case against Mohammad Abid and Amir Khan, Sajid’s maternal nephews who are in their early 20s, and others under sections 323, 324 and 34 of the IPC after one of the arrested men, Rajkumar, recorded his statement.

Rajkumar alleged that he was travelling through Bhoop Singh Nagar when a ball hit his foot. “When I raised an objection, the men started manhandling me and one of them, Abid, hit me on the head with a bat and I fell. Some men from my village saved me and took me to a hospital in Sohna, from where I was referred to Civil Hospital. The police then came to the hospital to arrest me and I fled,” said Rajkumar, in the complaint dated March 26.

Mohammad Arif, Sajid’s uncle, denied that Rajkumar was beaten up by members of their family. “This is a fake case. Suddenly after eight days, they have produced a medical certificate. There is a camera near the house. Where is the evidence? This is a conspiracy to trap us or pressurise us to compromise,” said Arif.

On March 21, a mob of eight to 10 men had attacked members of Sajid’s family with sticks, rods and iron pipes after an altercation escalated and assumed communal overtones. At least 11 persons of Sajid’s family were injured.