Man tied to tree, beaten up, his head tonsured and forced to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’ in UP village, 2 held after viral video

On the intervention of Bulandshahr Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shlok Kumar, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the three accused — Saurabh Thakur, Gajendra and Dhani Pandit — Saturday (June 17). The SSP said Saurabh Thakur and Gajendra were arrested while raids to nab Dhami Pandit were on.

Shlok Kumar suspended with immediate effect the in-charge of the Kakod police station, Amar Singh, for allegedly not taking any action against the accused and, instead, sending the victim to jail. The SSP said he had ordered an inquiry into the incident and asked Superintendent of Police Surendra Nath Tiwari to submit a report soon.

In her complaint to the area police station, Sahil’s sister Rubeena, 25, said her brother is a daily-wage earner. He left home in the morning of June 14 to whitewash a house in the village, she told the police.

“My brother did not return home till late at night, and when I saw a video on my mobile in which my brother was tied to a tree, beaten and forced to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’, I rushed to Kakod police station. But the police refused to lodge my complaint and arrested my brother on June 15,” she said.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi posted the viral video in a tweet on Saturday and said, “Ek Dihadi mazdoor ko ek darakht se bandh kar peeta gaya aur JSR ke naare lagane per mazboor kiya gaya.Baaad mein police ki hamdardi dekhiye muzrimo ke khilaf karyawahi karne ke bajay, Sahil ko hi jail bhej diya (A daily-wage earner was tied to a tree, beaten and forced to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans. Apathy of the police is such that instead of taking action against the accused, Sahil has been sent to jail).

“Where should we go to lodge complaint on atrocities being inflicted on us?,” asked Owaisi.