Slum-dwellers attacked in Ghaziabad, called ‘Bangladeshi’; cops arrest Hindu Raksha Dal chief

Police are contemplating invoking the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against the attackers, Ajay Kumar Mishra, Commissioner of Police, Ghaziabad, told The Indian Express.

Rajvati, 47, who lives in the slum cluster near Guldhar railway station in Madhuban Bapudham, was among those beaten up. Recounting the incident, Rajvati, who hails from UP’s Saharanpur, alleged: “I was cooking outside my jhuggi. Suddenly, a group of people came and started beating us with wooden sticks.”

There are around 15 jhuggis in the area where the incident happened. Most slum-dwellers are daily wagers and ragpickers.

Abhishek Shrivastava, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kavinagar (Ghaziabad), said: “On August 9, around 7.30 pm, Hindu Raksha Dal chief Pinky Chaudhary — along with 15-20 of his supporters — thrashed people who were living in jhuggis in a freehold land area after accusing them of being Bangladeshi.”

“They also destroyed their jhuggis. Some residents have sustained injuries,” said the ACP, adding, “In our initial investigation, we found that none of those living in the area were from Bangladesh.”

The FIR in the case has been filed at Madhuban Bapudham police station by sub-inspector Sanjeev Kumar under sections 191(2) (rioting), 354 (act caused by inducing person to believe that he will be rendered an object of the divine displeasure), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 117(4) (causing grievous hurt), 299 (outrage religious feelings), 324 (5)(damage to public property) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

“We have especially included 117(4) (causing grievous hurt),” Mishra said.

A resident, who was an eyewitness to the incident, alleged, “I saw the members of the group stopping a man and asking him his name. When he said that his name was Rehan, they started beating him up. They called him a Bangladeshi and accused him of committing atrocities against Hindus.”

In the purported video of the incident, a group of men can be seen vandalising the slums and hitting people with wooden sticks. Some of them can be seen setting the slums on fire. They can also be seen hurling abuses at the slum dwellers.

The incident comes two days after Pinky Chaudhary released a video online where he said he “won’t spare any Bangladeshis staying in India”. “I am giving 24 hours to the government or else I will not spare anyone and I know all the places they have been staying,” he allegedly said.

The threat came as Bangladesh grapples with one of the worst political crises in its history, which recently led to the resignation of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister, and her fleeing from the country following violent protests against her government.