India arrests after Muslim man beaten to death by hardline Hindus

Police in India say they have arrested 17 members of a hardline Hindu group after a Muslim man was beaten to death in the western city of Pune.

Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh, 28, was stopped by a group of men on Monday night and beaten with rods and sticks.

The attackers were angry over some "distorted" images of the 17th Century warrior king Shivaji and late Shiv Sena party leader Bal Thackeray on Facebook.

Officials say he was innocent and simply got up caught in clashes.

"Shaikh was returning home after prayers on Monday night when he was stopped by a group of about a dozen men who assaulted him brutally," senior police officer Manoj Patil told BBC Hindi.

"The attackers were accusing him of posting offensive photos on Facebook. When police reached the scene, the attackers had run away. Shaikh was taken to hospital, but he died from his injuries.

"There is no doubt that this was a case of religious hate crime," Mr Patil added.

He said the arrested men belonged to the Hindu Rashtra Sena (Hindu National Army), a small radical Hindu group.

At the weekend, police said there were clashes in Pune and other cities of Maharashtra state over the offensive images on Facebook. The images were later removed.

Officials said Shaikh, who worked in the IT department of a textile firm, was not involved in any way.

"Shaikh had no connection with these images. Police have arrested all the accused and we will take strict action against them," Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil said.

‘First Wicket Has Fallen’ — Hindu Sena Messaged After Pune Techie Killing

MUMBAI (twocirles.net) — As the investigation into the Pune communal violence by Hindu radicals proceeds, many facts are coming out to suggest  that it had been a well planned and orchestrated targeting of Muslim community living in Pune and its nearby areas.

Pune police have said that immediately after the brutal beating and killing of the 24-year old Muslim techie Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh, a resident of Solapur, on Monday in Hadapsar area of Pune, the activists of the Hindu Rashtra Sena exchanged a text message on their mobiles saying in Marathi: ‘Pahili wicket padli’  (First wicket has fallen).

“The message was circulated immediately after about 25 members of the Hindu extremist outfit allegedly bludgeoned Shaikh to death,” city joint commissioner of police Sanjay Kumar was quoted as saying to a newspaper.

Taking into consideration the content of the message exchanged by the Hindu Rashtra Sena activists and the weapons they were carrying, the police are now probing whether the attack was planned in advance.

Meanwhile Pune police have arrested 4 more members of Hindu Rashtra Sena.  A total of 17 people have been arrested in connection with the murder of Shaikh Mohsin Sadiq in Bankar Colony in Hadapsa area on Monday night, police said.

On Wednesday, a local court remanded all the accused to police custody till June 9.Thirteen persons were earlier arrested by police in this connection who have been booked under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 147 (rioting) of Indian Penal Code.

Since Tuesday, the city has deployed security forces to restore peace and harmony in the city. Meanwhile, the City Police Commissioner Satish Mathur said stringent provisions of Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act (MPDA) would be invoked to book the miscreants suspected of involvement in inciting violence.

Police have also issued an appeal asking people not to believe or spread rumors and said that Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh, who was murdered on Monday in Hadapsar by Hindu radicals, was living there since 2006 and was not involved with any organization.

The brutal killing of the Muslim techie is being widely condemned by political parties and also by civil rights groups across the country.

“This killing isn’t a stray incidence without larger implications. With the coming of power of the new government, the Hindutva organizations are emboldened to intensify violence and polarize communities”, the All India Secular Forum (AISF) said in a statement.

Mohsin’s parents are in distress as their son was the sole breadwinner of the family. The incident has also proved that Pune has now become a communally sensitive place. His father told the Indian Express, “I wasn’t worried at all. Neither was Mohsin. We knew Pune was a safe city. I had spoken to him on Monday afternoon and we didn’t even discuss this issue. We didn’t think it was something to worry about.”

Mohsin was nowhere connected with the uploading of derogatory pictures on social networking site Facebook and had to lose his life for no fault of his.

MUSLIM HOMES, MOSQUES, MADRASSAS VANDALIZED BY MOB IN PUNE

Twocircles.net 

PUNE – Muslim homes, shops, mosques and madrassas have been damaged in Pune and elsewhere in Maharashtra in the violence by Hindu radicals across Maharashtra purportedly protesting derogatory images of Chhatrapati Shivaji and the late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Facebook. A 24-year old techie from Sholapur was beaten to death, sparking tensions across the state.

A mosque and madrassa ‘Tanzeemul Muslimeen Darl Uloom Ashrafiya’ situated in Landewadi was damaged by the miscreants whereas prayer mats of the mosque in Bhosari were burnt down. The mob also burnt a number of copies of the Holy Quran. Five two-wheelers parked outside mosque were also set on fire. Most students studying in the adjacent madrassa somehow managed to escape, although many suffered minor injuries.

Speaking to TwoCircles.net, Maulana Aziz Siddiqui of the Madrassa Darl Uloom Ashrafiya said, “Three students have suffered leg injuries who were briefly admitted to the hospital, but most students have now gone home. But the madrassa has been severely damaged.” He added that situation in Pune is now calm but tense as no one is certain what may happen next.

The popular dargah of Hazrat Peer Shah Jalaluddin Shah Qadri which was situated in the same area was also vandalized. Nearly 500 men entered Noor Mohalla of Bhosari area with swords and petrol bombs in their hands and broke doors and windows of Muslim houses.

The prayer hall, ablution area, water tank and around 10 graves in Shahi Qabrastan Trust, Bhosari were vandalized. Five mosques in Hinjewadi area were also damaged. The imam of Aisha Mosque was beaten up brutally who is now recuperating in Inamdar Hospital. Masjid-e-Zainab and Madrassa-e-Shabnam Garib Nawaz were also damaged badly. Three other mosques in the adjacent areas were also desecrated by the rampaging mob.

One of the petrol pumps belonging to a Muslim businessman was totally destroyed. A mosque situated in Talode basti was also damaged. Muslim houses, shops and around 20 bakeries were targeted in Karve road area, Thergaon and Wakad.

A group belonging to various Muslim organizations made an emergency visit to the affected areas to assess the overall damages suffered by the community.

The damaged bakeries included Ismail bakery (Karve Nagar),Citizen Bakery (Sinhgarh road), Heena Bakery, Shabnam Bakery, Moti Bakery, Shad Bakery (Dattawadi), Sun Rise Bakery, Indian Bakery (Warje), Welcome Bakery, Sahara Bakery, Patel Bakery (Hadapsar), Supreme Bakery (Malewadi) and Unicon Bakery ( Phirsangi). The visiting group of Muslims estimated the loss of damaged bakeries alone to be more than one crore (ten million) rupees.

Senior police officer Mandhre assured the Anjuman Ittehadul Ansar that police are working to restore peace and harmony in the city and have so far arrested 116 people aging between 18 to 25 years old for the violence. –With inputs from Roznama Sahara