Karnataka SHOCKER: Muslim Girl, Dalit Boy Beaten & Robbed By Mob For Sitting Together

An 18-year-old Dalit boy and a Muslim girl (22), were beaten up and robbed a mob of Muslim men in Karnataka’s Belagavi who took offence to their sitting together despite belonging to different religions.

By Gazi Abbas Shahid

Karnataka News: In a shocking incident of moral policing, an 18-year-old Dalit Hindu boy and his 22-year-old Muslim friend, were allegedly viciously beaten up with iron rods and pipes by a group of men purportedly belonging to the girl’s community after the duo was reportedly seen sitting together. The incident took place in Karnataka’s Belagavi.

According to the police, Sachin Lamani (18), and Muskan Patel (22), were brutally assaulted by the accused men after they saw them sitting together. The victims filed a complaint based on which the Belagavi Police registered a case under the SC/ST Atrocities Act and other relevant sections of the law and arrested the nine accused allegedly involved in the attack.

Robbed and assaulted

Narrating the horrifying ordeal, the Dalit boy said they were sitting near the Killa Lake in Belagavi when they were approached by the assailants who were allegedly drunk. The men asked why a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl were sitting together, Sachin said.

“They asked why a Hindu and a Muslim were sitting together. I told them she wasn’t a Muslim but my own aunt’s daughter. They took both of our phones and also snatched away Rs 7,000,” the boy said, according to India Today.

The 18-year said the incident happened on Saturday aftrnoon when he and Muskan had gone to apply for the Yuva Nidhi scheme but since it was lunchtime, they were told to come back after an hour and decided to pass the time by sitting at the nearby Killa Lake.

“We were sitting by the Killa Lake when the miscreants approached us. They were drunk and started verbally berating us. Then they beat us with iron rods and pipes,” Sachin said while recounting the nightmare.

As per the victims’ complaint, the incident took place near the Killa Lake in Belagavi on Saturday when the accused men approached the two youngster and enquired about their names. After finding out that they belonged to different religions, the men– who were allegedly inebriated– started berating them and chastised Muskan and Sachin for sitting together.

After a volley of verbal abuses, the attackers then assaulted the two youngster and even tried to strangulate Sachin, the complaint said, adding that the accused also snatched away their mobile phones and took away Rs 7,000 from the boy.

Afterwards, at least a dozen more people joined the assault and forcibly took the two victims to a room where Sachin was subjected to a brutal beating till late evening. The girl, Muskan, also bore the brunt of the attackers’ fury and was viciously beaten, the complaint stated.

Police said they have launched a manhunt to identify and nab the other accused involved in the incident.

Courtesy : India.com

Note: This news piece was originally published in india.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Righ