Police have arrested two men for allegedly assaulting and publicly parading two members of the minority community during an ongoing police investigation into a blackmail case involving a minor girl in Sanjauli, Shimla.
The suspects were identified as Madan Thakur (43) and Vijay Sharma (47), both residents of Shimla. The incident took place on Saturday.
In a related development, police have also arrested the main suspect identified as Ubaid, 22, of Krishna Nagar in Shimla, who allegedly made a video of the minor girl and blackmailed her.
According to police, a case has been registered at the Sanjauli police station under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges related to unlawful assembly, assault, criminal intimidation, rioting, causing hurt, and promoting enmity.
Earlier, police said that the duo assaulted and paraded by locals had not been named either in the complaint lodged by the girl’s family or by the girl in her statement recorded by investigators. However, sources said that the victim, who is also from the minority community, has come out in support of the arrested suspects claiming that the tailor Azeem Mirza and his friend Aftab were also involved in the crime committed with her.
ASP (Shimla) Abhishek said, “Two more women suspects were arrested in this case. Two already arrested suspects were remanded in two days of police custody today (Sunday)”.
The ASP added that supporters of the suspects are making attempts to influence the police investigation by staging the protest outside the police station and blocking roads, which has caused traffic jams.
The case was registered on the complaint of Azeem Mirza, a tailor who runs a shop in Sanjauli. In his complaint, Mirza alleged that he was present at his shop on June 6 along with his co-worker, Aftab, when a group of individuals arrived and brought a young woman to the premises.
The complainant alleged that the group questioned the minor about his identity. After the victim reportedly stated that she did not recognise him, the suspects allegedly assaulted Mirza inside the shop. They are also accused of damaging the wires of the shop’s CCTV cameras and attempting to record videos of him.
According to the complaint, the suspects later made the complainant and his colleague come out of the shop, where they were allegedly beaten and publicly paraded while slogans were raised against them.
A police officer said that a day earlier, the minor girl had filed a complaint at the women police station in Shimla alleging that a youth had recorded an objectionable video clip of her and attempted to blackmail her.
“Acting on the complaint, police registered a case and arrested the accused, identified as Ubaid (22), a resident of Krishna Nagar in Shimla,” the officer added.
Sources said that Ubaid was only arrested when people held a protest in the Sanjauli market.
Police said that while the investigation into the minor girl’s complaint was underway, Madan Thakur and Vijay Sharma, along with other unidentified persons, allegedly attempted to influence the investigation through unlawful means.
Police said that instead of allowing the legal process to continue, the suspects allegedly took the law into their own hands, assaulted the two men, and organised a public procession of them in an apparent act of vigilante justice.
Police have also arrested the main suspect identified as Ubaid, 22, of Krishna Nagar in Shimla, who allegedly made a video of the minor girl and blackmailed her. (File image) 
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